Love Isn't A Lie
by KatnissxSwift
Summary: Between the end of Mockingjay and the Epilogue. Peeta still has his flashbacks, I still have my nightmares. But we're together and that's all that matters. A story involving love and hurt/comfort. And sometimes, the most unexpected things happen.
1. He's Back

**A/N - Firstly, this is my first fan-fic. So, I'm sorry for any typos or grammar mistakes.  
><strong>**I'm very inspired by Mockingjay99, so it may be a bit similar to her story. HER STORIES ARE AMAZING!**

**Anyway, please read and enjoy chapter 1 of Love Isn't A Lie.**

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><p>I wake up sweating in the middle of the night. I wish he was here to help me. But no, he's in the Capitol, probably thrashing at a photo of me. And Gale is in District 2 with some fancy job and another pair of lips to kiss.<p>

Tip-toeing down the stairs, I'm about to enter the kitchen when I bang my head on the wall in the darkness and slide down onto the ground. Before I realise it, tears are escaping from my eyes and I'm curled up in a tight ball. I fall into a world of nightmares…again.

"_You killed my family. They loved me." Peeta screams. I step back and fall into what is left of the bakery. He spits in disgust at my swollen eyes, and kicks the dust in my face._

"_You love me." I whisper weakly, wishing he would open his arms and let me crawl into them._

"_But you don't. My mother was right. You are filth from the Seam, disgusting and selfish. You should've died that day. And I would be living happily with my family." He snarls._

_I can't take it anymore, I break down into tears and run back to my house, well what I thought was my house. I run into the living room and there is Gale holding a baby smiling up at another lady whom I assume is his wife._

_He looks at me, "Katniss! Didn't think you'd ever stop by. What? Does Peeta hate you? I wouldn't be surprised. I was so blind I couldn't see who you really were. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly. The worst person ever."_

_I wince and scream at every insult. How could my best friend say that? The taste of blood from biting my mouth makes throw my arms around him, sobbing into his shirt. His wife pulls me off in disgust and slaps me, telling me to stay away from Gale. I want to slap her too, but I don't have enough energy. Feeling defeated, I slump away back to the streets. I'm greeted by Peeta._

"_PEETA!" I shout delightedly but stop when I see his eyes that are full of hatred and pain as he holds a knife. Standing still, I wait for the knife to pierce through me. It doesn't, I open my eyes and see Finnick's head getting ripped off by the mutts._

I'm screaming. It's true because I feel someone shaking me, soft warm hands. The person's moaning my name.

"Katniss, wake up. It's not real." I shoot my eyes open and I see a boy with blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. I rub my eyes and clear my vision. It's the boy with the bread. I wrap my arms around him shakily while he pats me on the back and drags me to the couch.

"You're back, Peeta." I state stupidly. He nods slowly and strokes my face. "I was lonely. I had to deal with my nightmares alone." Peeta bends down and kisses me on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, Katniss. They didn't let me come home. I'm truly sorry." He apologises. Why did I even blame him? It's not even his fault, he was in Capitol, recovering, so he wouldn't kill me. Gathering all my energy to sit up, I collapse on him. "Katniss, sleep. It's going to be okay now."

Real or not real? Peeta came back to twelve. Real. He's baking cheese buns for me now. Guessing from the sunlight streaming through the windows, it's noon. The sleep I just had was the best I've had in ages. Using the wall as a guide, I make my way to the kitchen and slump on a chair. Peeta sets a tray of cheese buns on the table, sitting next to me.

"I was thinking we could go to the Meadow today." I look up at Peeta to see if he's joking. His eyes change back to sad ones. "I guess I'll be leaving now."

Watching him leave drains the life out of me. I have no idea why. I mean, I didn't love him. Oh no. That thought makes me swallow down the guilt.

"Wait, Peeta." I mumble. He turns around.

"Did you say something?" Peeta's eyes stare at me as I walk over to him. "Katniss, you really need to eat your breakfast and re-" I crash my lips onto his and I sort of smile as he wraps his arms around me.

"I'll visit you later." I grin for the first time in ages and watch him go. As soon as he closes the door, I see the mountain of unopened letters. Were they there the whole time? Without thinking I open the first one from my mother.

_Dear Katniss,_

_How have you been doing? I've sent a few letters but you haven't replied to any of them. Are you okay?_

Those words were stupid. Of course I wasn't okay, Prim's dead and everyone left me. I was about to scrunch up the letter until I read the next few lines.

_You're probably going to scrunch this up. Of course you're not okay. I'm not either. I miss her a lot. We even have a memorial spot for her on the side of one of the beaches. I've been there every day._

_Annie is broken beyond repair…_

I didn't need to read the rest. The fire flickered when it caught the piece of paper. Tears streamed down my face as I leaned back on the wall. It was all my fault. Annie hates me, I'm sure. Finnick died for me, even when he knew his wonderful wife was waiting for him back at District 13.

Fatigue took over the tears. My eyelids were drooping even though the sun was still up. No. I had to get up and visit Peeta. He would be waiting for me. Crawling out the door to get to Peeta's house, something hit me hard on the head. All I remember was someone screaming my name desperately as I landed on the stiff pavement...

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><p><strong>AN - What did you think about that? Review please. (:**


	2. What Happened?

**A/N – Thanks for the reviews, favourites and story alerts. I appreciate them all!**

**Remember to read Mockingjay99's amazing stories. (: I'm inspired by her.**

**Anyway, happy reading of Love Isn't A Lie chapter 2.**

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><p>Someone is stroking me. The soft grazes spread warmth throughout my body. Slowly opening my eyes, I make the scene out.<p>

"Katniss." Peeta's eyes look delighted. What am I doing here? I remember being knocked out as I was approaching Peeta's front door.

"What happened?" I groan and try to sit up holding my left temple. Peeta is fidgeting with the striped table cloth. "Peeta. What happened?" He looks up, mouths a word that I think is 'sorry' and starts making bread. Annoyed, I go find Haymitch and storm into his house.

"Woah. Slow down, sweetheart. What happened?" Haymitch is sprawled across the couch with a bottle of white liquor in one hand and a knife in the other.

"You tell me." I sneer and snatch the bottle away from him. He swipes his knife but I take a step back and miss it. Haymitch groans and sits up properly. "Peeta is acting weird." I tell him. He snorts. Getting frustrated, I pour the white liquor over him. "IF YOU TWO WON'T TELL ME, I'LL FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL." I scream and turn to the door.

"Stop. You won't find any other witnesses other than Peeta and I in District 12." He mutters. Shrugging the statement off, I walk back to my house and collapse in a mess of letters on the living room ground. The words Haymitch said swirl around my head. Nobody else witnessed what happened. I had two options. Haymitch. Or Peeta.

That drunk man was probably not the best person to ask. Which means the only option was to ask Peeta. Did I really want go ask him and then get no response? No. I was getting an answer whether he liked it or not.

I storm into Peeta's house and find him sitting on the table waiting for his bread.

"Hey Katniss." He smiled at me.

"Don't '_hey'_ me." I scowl and watch his smile disappear. Peeta walks to the oven and leans on the bench acting as if I'm not there. "Peeta!"

"If you're here to ask me what happened, you may as well leave." He murmurs with his back facing me. "Or you can go ask Haymitch."

I clench my fists, "I did and he didn't give me an answer. Why won't you tell me?"

"Alright. I'll tell you. And you're going to hate me." Peeta turns to face me and his eyes are filled with pain. "I saw Haymitch and he was drunk, as always. I wanted to know what happened while I was away but he wasn't sober enough to tell me and I had an episode. So I grabbed his bottle of liquor but it slipped about of my hands and hit you. The glass shattered around you. Haymitch locked me inside his house until I was okay again. But I almost killed you. Again." I watch as he drags himself upstairs.

"It was an accident." I whisper. But I'm sure he couldn't hear it from his room with the closed door. Before I know it, I'm knocking at his bedroom door. There was no answer. Knocking again doesn't help. Then I start banging and screaming, "PEETA! YOU CAN'T AVOID ME FOREVER. OPEN THE DOOR."

The door opens suddenly and I fall into soft arms.

"Here to say how much you hate me?" Peeta says into my hair while stroking it. "Well you don't need to." He stabilises me and lets go before lying on the bed with his hands resting under his head.

"I don't hate you. I could never hate you Peeta." I sit down next to him. "You're impossible to hate." He laughs slightly.

"Then what do you want?" He looks at me seriously.

"Can't I just visit you?" I say unconvincingly. "I mean, we're friends…right?"

"Yeah. Is there any other reason that you're here." He raises an eyebrow.

My brain is persuading me to tell him, but I don't want to hurt him. His eyes are shining with happiness. And I don't realise I've stopped breathing until he tells me. When I open my mouth, it comes out, "Peeta. I know you only just came back but…I think it's best if you go back to the Capitol and keep recovering because y-." My hand shoots up to cover my mouth before any other words come out. I knew it, his eyes have turned into sadness and he backs away from me.

"Because I'm causing too much trouble. And you don't want me here. Yeah. I understand. I'll catch the next train back." With that, he grabs his jacket and exits. I sink into the soft mattress mentally kicking myself. Within minutes, I fall asleep.

"_Why's he here?" a nurse asks. "I thought he went back for her."_

"_Apparently, she hates him. Can't stand looking at him." The doctor replies._

"_We should just kill him off. He's a nuisance anyway." Another nurse suggests. Then I'm whipped away to a room where I can see a confined Peeta screaming to let him go._

"_Peeta!" I shout, scratching at the glass. He can't hear me though, only I can hear him. A few Capitol doctors and nurses enter the room. For a moment, I feel relieved but when I see them bring weapons out, I dive for the door and strong hands pull me back._

"_Catnip." The voice says._

"_Gale?" Of course it's him. He's the only one who calls me that. "Why are you h-"_

"_Shhh. I'm here to rescue you. Let's go." He drags me out the door. Rescue me? From what? As I'm pulled out of the room, I hear cries of pain and catch a glimpse of someone torturing Peeta. No. He can't die. The boy with the bread can't die. I stumble through the door as everyone else leaves._

"_Peeta. Are you alright?" I question stupidly. Obviously not._

"_I am now." He grabs my hand. "Don't go." I'm taken back thousands of memories, the boy from District 1 lies on the ground not far from me, when I turn my head, it's not Peeta. It's Rue. This is the same scenario where I'm helpless._

"_I'm staying right here. Do you want me to sing anything?" This was the first time I suggested anything like that. Peeta doesn't reply. "Peeta. Do you want me to sing anything?" I repeat. He had to be playing with me. He had to. Just to make sure, I put my fingers above his mouth. No breath. Panicking, I rest my head on his chest where I find the steady beat of his heart. It's silence._

"_NO. PEETA. You…you…can't…die. You can't leave me." I stutter frantically, I lie there in a pool of tears clutching his hand pathetically._

"Peeta." My hands wander around. "Peeta. Come here." Eventually I wake up sweating. The sun is setting, and the window is open, letting the cool breeze into the room. Flashbacks of the nightmare replays in my mind. "Peeta." I say once more, then hits me. He was going to catch the next train.

Falling off the bed, I dash out the room and down the stairs, heading for the train station. My footsteps slow down when I'm at the train station and I'm greeted by Haymitch. Surprisingly, he's not drunk and has a sad look.

I see the flash of a train pulling away and my heart drops to my stomach. My boy with the bread is going to die in the hands of Capitol doctors and nurses...

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><p><strong>AN - Sorry if you don't like author's notes at the beginning! I probably won't put any more in unless I have to say something important before. I tried not to be violent. Yeah...**

**OMS. I went to Taylor Swift's concert last night. It was so - and so much more. It was the best night of my life. (: She sang Safe and Sound and said, "That was for a movie that just had their premiere a few hours ago!"**

**Sorry for any typos. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review! :D**


	3. Train Ride

We were on the train to the Capitol. The trees rushed by creating flashes of green, my favourite colour.

"It's all your fault, you know." Haymitch accused, taking a gulp of his white liquor.

"But you made him have an episode." I retorted. How could he blame the whole thing on me? Yes, it was my fault that Peeta's going back to the Capitol after 2 days in District 12. Except it wouldn't have happened if Haymitch hadn't drunk.

"He came back for _you_. Not _me_. Stupid mockingjay." He sneered at me. I grabbed a cushion and threw it at him before locking myself in my room. What Haymitch said was right. Again. Why did he always have to be right? It was annoying.

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><p>Doing everything I can to keep myself awake, I grab the vase and start chucking the flowers out. Once I'm finished, the floor is a mess. From the flowers and the vase that I dropped after the flowers were on the ground. I couldn't fall asleep. If I did, the nightmares would haunt me. And they were sure to be about Peeta.<p>

"Katniss." I hear a voice grumble. I hide under the blanket and pretend I'm sleeping as the door opens. It's Haymitch. "I know you're awake." I just shift uncomfortably under the blanket. "It's time to have dinner." No answer from me. He repeats it and sighs before leaving.

Watching the clock, I count down the hours until we pull into Capitol. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. A flashback hits me. Finnick and I were waiting for Peeta, Johanna, Annie and the others to come back. We tied knots while we were waiting, keeping an ear out for any news.

I leave my room for the first time, order food and request a rope from an attendant. After he gets them from me, I devour the food down and grab the rope to start tying knots.

Waiting. Waiting. Making knots. Making knots. A few hours to go. Making knots. Tick tock. I do not want dinner. Fingers raw and bleeding. I would have liked to talk to Finnick, except he was gone. And that's why I'm here now. All the people I was close to are now gone…because of me.

Despite my hard work, I begin to feel weary. My eyelids are about the shut me out from the world. My strength is losing the battle. Blackness surrounds me. I was wrong. This is a happy dream.

"_Katniss. I missed you." Peeta smiles while stroking my hair. We're in the meadow. He picks up some flowers and makes a chain. Then he joins both ends together, tie it and place it on my head._

"_Thank you." I grin at him and bury myself into his chest._

"_It feels weird not having many people to talk to." He says, his eyes scanning the Seam._

"_I got a letter. Delly says she will come back as soon as her house has finished building. And her house is almost done." I reply. Delly. Peeta's childhood friend. She means a lot to him because she fills his mind with happy memories only. Whereas I don't have many happy memories with Peeta. Most them are from the Games where I used him, District 12 where I turned a cold shoulder on him, the Victory Tour where I used him again and the rebellion when he was hijacked. I try not to think about that, because that was the past. Sometimes Peeta still clutches the end of the chair and hangs on until the flashbacks are over while I wake up from nightmares, but most of the horrible things are in the past and will never return. My life is perfect, well, maybe with a few glitches._

The sweet dream is short as someone begins banging on my door. Probably Haymitch.

"We're in Capitol." A voice yells. I was right; it was that drunk old man. Swinging my legs and walking out, I find Haymitch wearing a smug look.

"Why's the train still moving?" I raise my eyebrows. He jumps to my bedroom door and locks it.

"I knew that would happen." Haymitch responded, smirking.

"You tricked me?" Of course he did. Mentally kicking myself, I slump on the couch. "What do you want?"

"For you to eat, mockingjay." He replies. Clenching my fists, I grab the cushion and throw it at his face again.

"STOP CALLING ME MOCKINGJAY. THE WAR IS OVER. I'M NOT THE FREAKING MOCKINGJAY." I scream at him and proceed to the dining room. Dinner is set up. The door slams behind me but I don't react because I'm so furious with Haymitch. He knew it would annoy me. So why did he keep saying it? Mockingjay this, mockingjay that. Maybe he didn't say it that often but it still agitated me.

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><p>"Got some news." Haymitch says slowly. What now?<p>

"Don't want to hear it." I shake his comment away and walk down the corridor. His voice stops me.

"Peeta's at the hospital now." He ignores my answer and continues. I stop in my tracks. We were a few minutes away from the Capitol. My boy was there, about to die in the hands of doctors and nurses he had grown to trust in his recovery.

He was really going to die, and I couldn't protect him….

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><p><strong>AN – First time I've had it in sections.  
>Okay, fine. I know, boring chapter. And short too. Yay, for a happy dream. (I actually had a hard time writing it!) I have the few BIG twists and turns planned out. (:<strong>

**OMS. The Hunger Games comes out on March 22 here in Australia! Oh, and I saw "The Hunger Games" soundtrack at JB Hi-Fi and started freaking out. Because "Safe and Sound" and "Eyes Open" were on it. :D Also, you get a special movie poster.**

**Sorry it takes me sooooooo long to update! I have a lot of schoolwork. Yeah...anyway, the next chapter probably won't be up until the end of this week because I'm a slow writer.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Sorry for any typos, please review.**

**~KatnissxSwift**


	4. Back To The Capitol

I'm running desperately, trying to find Peeta. We, meaning Haymitch and I, just arrived at the Capitol hospital. It is gigantic. When I saw it, my heart dropped to my stomach again; I could never find Peeta.

Every time my head ducks into a room, the patient and doctor look at me oddly and I awkwardly smile before dashing off to the next one. Haymitch is, well, _was _following me, I have no idea if he's keeping up with my speed. All I see is a blur.

How many floors have I searched? At least 15, I'm sure. There's around 20 more to go.

"KATNISS!" A familiar voice calls. I turn around and see Dr Aurelius approaching me. "What're you doing?"

My mouth opens but only a strangled whimper comes out before I drop onto the ground and start shedding tears. He comes over and kneels down next to me.

"P...P…Pe…Peeta." I stammer and bury myself into Dr Aurelius's knees as he strokes me on the back.

"Where is he?" he asks me softly.

"Here. In Capitol, this hospital. I can't find him. I never will. And he's going to die. And I...I..." I fumble around for words. Peeta is the one that's smooth with words. Oh, Peeta. Why do I always have to think of him?

"We'll find him. Katniss. Don't worry, he's probably back here having some therapy. He will be fi-" I cut him off impatiently.

"NO. HE'S NOT HAVING THERAPHY. HE'S GOING TO DIE. I SENT HIM HERE." I lean on the glass wall as my head goes dizzy. Why now? Each footstep takes the energy out of me. Why won't my foot lift up? Urgh. It's feels as heavy as those bags of flours Peeta used to carry. Well, they looked heavy.

"Katniss, have you asked any of the nurses or doctors? Or have you just been running through this hospital like an idiot." Dr Aurelius's words swirl around my mind. Of course! I should've asked, I would've found him by now. "Let's go." He drags me to the reception on the level we're on right now. My mind won't let me concentrate on the conversation, everything is blurry anyway. I can't think straight.

Next thing I know, I'm being tugged into a crystal elevator. The shininess of the walls hurt my eyes, so I close them. But once I do, I forget about the rest of the world and fall asleep.

"_Peeta." I moan. "Peeta. Where are you?" All I can see is darkness. Oh, where are those glasses? Laughter. It's familiar…but I can't quite place whose laughter it is._

"_Lover boy. Want to blow her a last kiss?"_

_That line. It sounds familiar. 'What is it?' I think._

"_Want to blow lover boy one last kiss?" Clove smirks and I'm pinned to the ground. Oh, Clove. CLOVE. And Cato. Once I realise this, I'm feeling my way in the darkness towards the laughter that haunts this place. But I don't find Clove or Cato, a dead Peeta just lies silently on the ground. But the laughter's still there, even when I cover my ears, it's still loud and clear._

"_I gave them a good show." Clove snarls. Cato chuckles._

"_Yeah, wonder how girl on fire will cope." Cato says._

"_Maybe she'll cry forever and drown in her own tears." Clove says, imitating a poor, weeping girl, probably me, before cackling with Cato._

"NO." I jolt up and fall out of the chair I was sleeping in. The cold air of the hospital waiting room bites at me with its sharp, invisible fangs.

"Katniss. Is everything okay?" Dr Aurelius looks at his reports calmly.

"Yeah." I sit back in my chair and hold on to a table leg just in case. "What happened with Peeta." His eyes drop down to the report.

"You'll find out." He mutters back at me before leaving. What? He was supposed to help me. My head rests into my hands and I sigh multiple times before getting up to leave as well. Yeah. I'm giving up. My boy with the bread is way too far out of reach.

The elevator doors open and I walk in, closing my eyes while leaning against the wall.

"Miss Everdeen?" says a voice. It sounds shocked, well I'm sure they would be if they saw the mockingjay. My eyelids open and I examine the woman in front of me.

She's a nurse. I find her quite normal with no fancy hair or a weird skin colour like some people in the hospital still have.

"Yeah it's me. Do you need anything?" I mumble back to her bored. The next thing I need is some fan signing from random people. They're from the Capitol, so I guess I wouldn't get pushed into that.

She flips her head back to see that the elevator which floor the elevator is on, and in this case, it's 33. I hear her ask me a question, "You're looking for that boy, right?" she pauses before saying, "Peeta Mellark."

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><p><strong>AN - Cliffy...? Ha! Hope you enjoyed it! Anyway, the next chapter probably won't be up until next Wednesday? Perhaps.**

**I uploaded this today because the movie came out in Australia today. (We're the first country!) I was actually planning to upload it at midnight!**

**I'M GOING TO SEE THE HUNGER GAMES IN 10 DAYS! My friends and I decided to dress up as the tributes from our districts. (I'm from district 4!) Then die when we die in the movie. (if that makes sense!)**

**Review please! Sorry for such a long author's note!**

**~KatnissxSwift**


	5. Who Is She?

My eyes shoot open at the name; I practically tackle her onto the wall and command, "TAKE ME TO HIM. NOW." The nurse nods quickly and hits a few numbers. I clutch the railing and dig my fingernails into my skin until they start bleeding.

The doors open and I run out while the nurse follows behind. My footsteps gradually speed up and the nurse calls behind me.

"Slow down please, Miss Everdeen. You'll hurt the other patients."

My speed only slows down slightly. When were the other patients my problem? Peeta is the only thing on my mind right now. The second he comes into my mind, my feet break into a run.

"FIRST DOOR ON THE LEFT AFTER THE INTERSECTION!" The nurse shouts at me because she probably knows I'm not going to wait for her any time soon.

A crowd swarms into the door I'm about to enter, which makes me just sprint even faster. I feel like I'm running for my life again, away from the fireballs that are being shot at me.

The door swings open and I fall face first onto the ground. Rubbing my nose, I stand up and see Peeta unconscious. What? Are they going to kill him when he's knocked out?

"PEETA." I fling myself into the room he is in.

"Excuse me. We are trying to perform surgery, Miss Everdeen. Please wait outside." The doctor instructs.

"You get out of here." I say pointing to the door. He looks shocked. Who is he to tell me where I'm going. "Hurry up, otherwise I'm going to ca…" I trail off as something sharp is stabbed into me, probably a needle. The pain is so excruciating I can't react, but when I try to scream, nothing comes out of me. Whatever I do to fight this drowsiness is useless; I'm already too far away.

There are too many nightmares to count, every time one is over, I feel like this torment will finally be over but it isn't, another one forces itself to make me enter hell. Many are about Peeta or Prim dying. The worst thing is that they start with a happy dream like Prim and I sitting in the meadow laughing and making flower chains like everything is perfect. Then she somehow dies in the mines or gets reaped and I can't save her.

After many hours or days, but it feels like years of nightmares with the plot worsening each time, I am finally able to open my eyes again.

"Nice, you're awake. You've been sleeping for 5 hours." A nurse beside me smiles. It was the girl who told me where Peeta was. There was something odd about her voice; it didn't have that Capitol accent. My eyes catch notice of her name tag. Her name is Rosalyn.

She seems to notice me staring at her.

"Is something wrong?" She asks softly.

"Your name. I know it, I've seen it before, well heard it before." I answer honestly. The name felt so unusually familiar but extremely foreign as well.

"Me? No, I'm sure you just got it mixed up with someone. I've heard of some other people with the same name as well." She says uneasily, it sounds like she's panicking to hide her identity.

"I didn't realise before. You're not from the Capitol." I state. "You don't have the accent, and you look perfectly normal." I feel as if I keep talking to her, the piece of information will hit me.

"Uhm…what're you talking about?" She replies quickly and nervously while messing around with her hair and biting her lip.

"You're not like any oth-" I begin but Rosalyn cuts me off.

"I might go. I've got some other work to do." She gives me a small tight smile before standing up and walking away.

"The Hunger Games." I mumble, somehow she hears me, I know because she stops dead in her tracks. Did I just come across an important clue? She whips her head around.

"Oh, don't worry. The nightmares won't be there every time you sleep." She is doing her best to ignore the topic. This isn't helping at all. Why is she hiding it anyway? I watch weirdly as she quickly shuffles her way down the hall.

I fidget around in my seat for a while before deciding to just let the issue go.

Sitting in a chair sounds really boring and an invitation to hell so I decided to go for a walk.

As I stroll down the corridor, I see Rosalyn talking to Dr Aurelius with a guitar through the blinds of the window. It's Dr Aurelius's office, it currently has a sign that says: **"DO NOT DISTURB"** so I decide to press my ear against the wall. I hear their muffled voices.

"Why didn't you play her a song?" I hear Dr Aurelius ask.

"And sing? No way." Rosalyn says. What? Play guitar and sing?

"Come on. You know you love music. You know your reason for being here." He tells her. Music. I hadn't sung for quite a while and I don't want to anytime soon, it would just bring back memories of when I used to sing to Prim. But why would a nurse sing?

"Yeah. He told me to come here…" Rosalyn trails off, and I hear a weird noise. Peeking through the window, I can just make out the sad look on her face.

"To sing." Dr Aurelius completes the sentence. "You sang for one of my patients, they really enjoyed it. It made them feel safe and they had a good dream afterwards. Rosalyn, you have the ability to take pain away from people. Use it. That's why he sent you here, to help. And you really used your skill to help Peeta."

I'm surprised nobody has noticed me yet, not even after I let out a loud gasp. Did I just hear that Peeta was still alive? My ear hurts as my press it in to hear the last few sentences.

"Go sing for her. It would help a lot. You took away the pain from Peeta when he was recovering. Now go do the same with her. She should have a good sleep." He stands up and I quickly hide as he walks out the room and don't leave until he is in the elevator.

But when I jump out from my hiding spot, Rosalyn spots me as she's walking out…

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><p><strong>AN - PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR PUTTING IN AN OC! I needed to buy time, so I thought that the OC would make it a bit more interesting. What do you think?**

**I've been co-writing with HungerGamesLove1020 on her story - "Like Father like Daughter" So go check that out. (: WHILE YOU'RE CHECKING OUT SOME STORIES, MAKE SURE YOU VISIT Mockingjay99's profile. Like my story? Well I've told you this many times, but she inspires me which means her stories are even more fantabulous.**

**I'm on break for 2 weeks after this Friday! So I'll be able to update sooner. (: (Maybe everyday!) And I'm seeing The Hunger Games this Sunday (April 1 - April Fools Day! :D) with my friends. I'm sure it'll be amazing!**

**What do you think about Rosalyn? Do you think you know where she is from?  
>What do you think will happen?<br>What do you _want_ to happen?  
>Tell me! Drop a review or PM me please!<strong>

**Best Wishes,  
>~KatnissxSwift<strong>


	6. Finding Him

"Uhm…hi." I smile awkwardly. Rosalyn blinks a few times. She looks down the corridor and turns back to me.

"So you're looking for Peeta." She concludes to the possibilities that I could have been there for.

'Thank you!' I think. She was definitely a life saver.

"Yeah! Would you have any idea where he is?" I ask brightly. She looks around before dragging me to the room and locking the door.

"Uhm. What're you do-" I stop when she looks me in the eye. Those eyes look really familiar, I just can't place whose eyes they look like.

"Why are you following me around?" She inquires ignoring my question. My eyes wander around the room before darting back to hers.

"What made you think that?" I laugh uneasily and she rolls her eyes.

"Okay. If you want to know my name, it's Rosalyn Whitelock. But you can call me Rose." She finally confesses. Except she doesn't look very happy. "So please stop following me around!" Rose spins around and unlocks the door. When she starts to walk out, I grab her arm.

"You didn't tell me where Peeta was." I say firmly.

"Probably in his usual room." She sighs and I raise an eyebrow.

"Take me there."

So she continues down the corridor with one hand holding a guitar and the other is used to drag me along as I clutch onto her left arm.

We finally arrive in front of one door that says – **AUTHORISED PERSONNEL ONLY. **Frowning slightly, I turn to Rose.

"Just come in with me." She says reading my mind. "And Peeta's alright, he's being treated well."

Instantly, relief overcomes my fear. I don't know why, but I'm really starting to trust my new friend, even though I just met her and she may not think of me as a friend but, she's helping me. And that's what friends are for. Apparently.

We trudge along the sealed off area silently. I wouldn't risk asking any questions about her identity in case she ditches me and runs off, leaving me in trouble. This silence is really bothering me so I ask her the second thing on my mind.

"Why are you carrying your guitar?" I look at her as she looks at me again. My eye meets hers and realise they were the prettiest pair of eyes I had ever seen. They had the invisible radiance but it was the colour that was the best, a light shade of sea green.

Then I realise that she's smiling and I can't help but feel that the sun was shining in the cold hallway. There was another girl who was like her. Prim. The only person I was sure I loved before being sent off the first games. The eyes were similar as the lights danced around and the smile was warm and soothing. When there are these people with you, you can't help but wish you could freeze the scene and live in it forever.

"I like, well, love playing guitar." She smiles down at the ground before adding, "And singing." My mind is telling me to blurt out what I want to say, I try and fight it, but it's almost impossible. In the end, the 4 words come tumbling out anyway.

"I like singing too."

She looks up. And then her expression changes to a serious one again.

"We should get going." Rosalyn walks further down the hallway with me following. Why did she suddenly turn solemn again?

We stop in front of another door and I look at Rosalyn confused. I see she has already begun a complicated process.

First, she swipes her ID. Then, it asks for her fingerprint which she verifies by placing her delicate fingers on the small screen. Afterwards, it asks for her name.

"Rosalyn Whitelock." She articulates clearly.

The doors burst open and for a moment I'm stunned, I was going to see Peeta again. Rose yanked my arm with her when she proceeded forward. Dead to the world, the only thoughts I could form were Peeta.

'I'm going to see Peeta.' I thought. 'Peeta is safe and sound.' Those two sentences revolved around my mind.

"Katniss Everdeen." A soft voice snaps me back to reality. In front of me, I see Peeta lying in a large bed sleeping silently. A small grin appears on my face as I rush over beside Peeta.

"Peeta. Wake up, it's me." I shake him lightly and he opens his eyes slowly. Making out the picture in front of him, his ocean blue eyes widen.

"Katniss?" He mumbles shocked. I let out a small laugh and shake my head at him.

"Of course it's me. Who did you think it was?" I caress his face softly and he holds my hand.

"No, I just…" He looks at me and smiles. "Thought you didn't want to see me ever again because I had an episode again an-" I put a finger on his lips.

"Shush." I whisper before kissing him softly on the lips.

Someone lets out an uncomfortable cough. We both look up and see Rosalyn swaying slowly.

"Should I leave?" she suggests. I'm about to ask Peeta but he says something first.

"No, play a song for me."

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><p><strong>AN - So...? Drop me a review or private message. I love getting them. (: Hope you enjoyed!**

**I need 3 reviews for the next chapter. And please tell me what you think about Rosalyn.**

**I'M GOING TO SEE THE HUNGER GAMES IN A FEW HOURS! :D So excited. (:**

**Best Wishes,  
>~KatnissxSwift<strong>


	7. A Sweet Melody

**A/N – [NOTE: I removed the author's note] I might update everyday since I'm on a break! So it seems, most of you want me to keep Rosalyn in the story. (: She won't be as important after these few chapters but will probably be mentioned now and then. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this! *Lyrics are italicised***

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><p>"Uhm…" Rosalyn looks unsure. Peeta points to the seat beside his bed.<p>

"Just sit down." I tell her. She obeys obediently and Peeta smiles. "Sing." I say for Peeta, that's obviously what he wants.

"Why?" She questions. Raising my eyebrows, I look at her as if she's just asked the most stupid question but Rose stares right back into my eyes. And I realise she's being serious.

"For Peeta." I mutter to her, she looks at me for a while. Peeta's eyes wander from Rosalyn and me continuously. Getting annoyed, I signal her to sing and she sighs before bending down to unpack her guitar. Peeta gives a whoop.

Her soft brown curls fell out from a loose ponytail and into her lap. She just looks more and more familiar, but it hasn't clicked yet. I don't know who she is…yet.

"How old are you?" The words make me sound like a stalker, which I'm not, but Rose obviously does not believe that. Although she does give me back an answer.

"15." She says simply and rests her guitar on her lap. Then, her fingers start strumming the guitar. A while later, her voice comes in as well.

_I remember tears streaming down your face,  
>When I said, "I'll never let you go."<br>When all those shadows almost killed your light.  
>I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone."<br>But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight._

Those lyrics made me think of Rue. When she died. Then Peeta comes into my mind, I turn around and see him with his eyes closed, enjoying the song. I rest my head on his chest closing my eyes while Peeta puts an arm around me. Listening to the song, I also make sure I can hear the steady heartbeat of my boy with the bread. The more Rosalyn sings, the more my horrible memories turn into happy ones. Instead of Rue's death, I see when she smiled at me and laughed with me.

_Just close your eyes,  
>The sun is going down.<br>You'll be alright,  
>No one can hurt you now.<br>Come morning light,  
>You and I'll be safe and sound.<em>

The chorus reminds me of the meadow in District 12, where the grass is greener and softer, where I shared so many happy memories with Prim. The dream I had on the train also floats into my head, I was with Peeta and life was almost perfect.

_Don't you dare look out your window,  
>Darling, everything's on fire.<br>The war outside our door keeps raging on.  
>Hold on to this lullaby,<br>Even when music's gone.  
>Gone.<em>

The rebellion. Now it's Prim who's taken over my thoughts. Her sweet smile, the blonde hair, the blue eyes. The way she helped me through everything and her words, I remember when we had a little conversation in District 13 and she told me what President Snow was trying to do.

Rosalyn repeats the chorus again and Finnick pops into my mind. He was the only person who could understand how I felt when Peeta was in the Capitol, he was the only one I could talk to about Peeta. Finnick knew exactly how I felt, scared, anxious, lonely, a whole mix of sad emotions.

I've lost too many people, and I can't lose another one. My grip tightens around Peeta's arm, he seems to notice this.

"What's the problem?" He asks softly. My head lifts up and see his eyes staring into mine.

"Nothing." I murmur. Peeta doesn't believe it; he pulls me up so we're at the same level.

"Katniss." He envelopes me in a hug and kisses my forehead. "You can tell me anything." I hug him even tighter.

"I don't want to lose you." My eyes start to get teary, not long after, Peeta's shirt is wet.

"Close your _eyes_." He says to me and I obey quietly.

_Just close your eyes,  
>You'll be alright.<br>Come morning light,  
>You and I'll safe and sound.<em>

I fall into a deep sleep listening to the beautiful melody that Rosalyn's voice and guitar produce, and surprisingly, the nightmares don't take over.

_Someone is stroking me; I open my eyes and see Prim grinning. My mother smiles too. Lifting my pillow up, I make myself comfortable as I sit up on the bed._

"_You've been asleep way too long." Prim giggles, and my mother shakes her head a little. "Well, maybe not that long." Her words make me start giggling too._

"_You might want to have so food." My mother points to the warm bowl of stew resting on my bedside table._

"_Don't you two have work to do?" I raise my eyebrows. They look at each other and burst out laughing. I had never seen my mother laugh after my father died, but she truly looks happy._

"_Katniss, we are working right now." Mother tells me. My eyes give her a quizzical look and she continues. "We're looking after you." Her hands find my forehead and start stroking it again. "Lie down."_

"_I'm fine." I argue. But I lie down anyway, falling asleep to the giggles of my mother and Prim again._

That was the first good sleep I've had since the train. Well, that was a nap. I had expected Rosalyn to stop singing and playing but she hasn't. She isn't singing but she's still playing. Opening my eyes for real, I sit up on the bed. Peeta's still sleeping, and he looks happy, I decided I won't disturb him.

"You're awake." Rose says, still not leaving the guitar. Her fingers were bleeding. How many hours has she been playing for?

"Did you play the whole time I was sleeping?" I ask. She nods slowly. "Why? Your fingers are bleeding." She looks down, realising for the first time.

"Well, I didn't want to wake you by suddenly stopping." She tells me, I sigh.

"How long was I sleeping for?"

"Just a few hours." She shrugs. I look at the clock and widen my eyes.

"I was sleeping for 9 hours." I almost scream at her.

"I didn't know." She retorts. Even though it was supposed to be _angry_, it didn't sound like that at all.

"We'll get you cleaned up." It takes a few minutes to drag her to the sink to wash her hands because she insisted she kept playing until Peeta woke. And when he did, she put down the guitar and I dragged her over. I pull her fingers under the running tap and she winces as the water hits her wounds. Then I bandage her fingers separately and make her promise not to play the guitar for a while.

Rosalyn sits there quietly as Peeta and I talk.

"Did they do anything to harm you?" I question worriedly.

"No." He laughs. "Don't worry about me!"

"Well, I have to!" Then we both start laughing. I haven't laughed for a long time; it finally feels as if my life is finally going back to normal.

"Do you guys want anything?" Rosalyn interrupts us. I take a good look at her beautiful eyes again. The piece of information I want clicks. Without thinking, the one word on my mind comes out of my mouth.

"Annie."

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><p><strong>AN – Cliffy! Well, sort of. Yep, the song was "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars. (:**

**What do you think of this chapter?**

**The movie was amazing! But I wish they put more Everllark scenes in. Tell me what you thought of the movie! And of course, my story. Please review, my little beauties.**

**Best Wishes,  
>~KatnissxSwift<strong>


	8. Hijacked Moments

**A/N – Sorry, this was supposed to be up yesterday and it said it was up, but it ended up not uploading...yeah. Fanfiction is being weird. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this!**

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><p>Well, she's obviously not Annie. Rosalyn just resembled her; she had to be from District 4.<p>

"Catch the train back in the afternoon." The door slams as Rose walks out. I turn around and pull the chair closer to Peeta before I sit on it. He pulls me down for a kiss which I give him happily.

"Now that you say it, she does look like Annie. A lot." says Peeta.

"She's so pretty." I stare at the wall.

"Yeah. But you're way more beautiful." He adds. Rolling my eyes I lean back comfortably in my chair. Why was Rosalyn acting like this? It's not like she was President Snow's family. And neither was she tortured in the Capitol. Or family killed by Snow. Oh wait, maybe the last two weren't true. Even if they weren't, it would be a pretty weird reason to hide her identity.

"You know Rosalyn; I don't think I'll ever understand her. She's just so…" I trail off trying to find the right word.

"Mysterious." completes Peeta, he pauses before continuing, "But I can't help but think I've seen her before. In District 13 or something." Thirteen? That's impossible. Or is it?

* * *

><p>We're at the train station now, waiting to go back home. I thought I might stop at District 4 to visit my mother and Annie. Maybe even to visit Prim's memorial beside the beach. Then I decide not to, because my mother probably doesn't want to see me. Annie might rip my head off, the same way her husband died. Surely I'll break down and start crying once I see Prim's memorial, not being able to stand up.<p>

The train pulls in; Peeta, Haymitch and I jump on eagerly, happy to leave this place with so many haunting memories. Some of them were happy I guess.

Once we get one, the train starts moving. Haymitch hurries to snatch some of his beloved liquor. He'll probably be drunk in a few minutes. Peeta starts walking down the corridor to his room as well, but I call him.

"Stay with me, please."

"Always." He sits down next to me. "I think I know who Rosalyn is."

"Obviously."

"No, I mean, why she looks so familiar." He says slowly. My heart skips a beat.

"Seriously?"

"I just need Haymitch to confirm."

I literally throw myself onto him, smacking a big kiss on his warm lips. He kisses back holding me close and I tangle my fingers around his blonde hair. It seemed to be hours before we pulled away. We only do because Haymitch lets out an uncomfortable groan.

"If you want to show affection, go to your own room." Haymitch smirks as I retrieve to my own seat. Peeta pats the seat next to him, signalling for Haymitch to join us. Haymitch staggers over and plants himself onto the seat.

"What now?" He grumbles, slamming his bottle onto the table. I look at Peeta and mouth, 'Do you seriously want to ask him now?' He gives me back a mouthed reply too, 'If not now, then when?' Slumping back into my seat I watch as he tries to talk to Haymitch.

"Have you heard of someone called Rosalyn Whitelock?" As soon as Peeta finishes his sentence, Haymitch's spits out the liquor like he saw a ghost.

"EWWW!" I scream disgustedly as the white liquid dribbles out of Haymitch's mouth and onto his pants.

"Shut up." He growls and turns to Peeta. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, because, I just thought the name was familiar to you." Haymitch waits for more. "She's nurse at the hospital."

"A nurse?" Haymitch bursts out laughing and we give him weird looks. He finally stops and replies. "Well, there's quite a lot to her."

"Like…?" I start to get annoyed at him. It's not Haymitch who answers though.

"Like she was the victor of the 73rd Hunger Games when she was only 12." My jaw drops down when Peeta tells me this. Haymitch just nods before telling a very long story…

"It happened 15 years ago…once Rosalyn was born, Snow killed her family. Apparently, her ancestors were from District 13 and were the ones who decided to rebel. And in honour of killing her family, he started to wear white roses to haunt Rosalyn even more. President Snow used to wear an array of different coloured roses. Then, when Rose turned twelve, 3 years ago, he took his chance to kill her as well, not in the way he murdered her family, but in a more painful way. It was rumoured that all the slips in the ladies' bowl at the reaping were printed with her name." I gasp at the thought. "Obviously, she was reaped, and nobody volunteered."

"That's horrible." I whimper, the story brought back memories of Prim. It was just bad luck that Prim was reaped but I volunteered for her; Rosalyn is different, the sweet girl was born into the wrong family.

"But, she was victor." Haymitch shrugs. Before walking into his room again.

* * *

><p>The train pulls into District 12's station the next morning. We wave to Haymitch as he stumbles back home. Peeta starts walking home as well.<p>

"Can I come with you?" I ask, catching up with his footsteps. He stares at me weirdly. "Ugh. Come on!" I pull him along with me and we walk to his house. The door won't open. Even when I bang on it really hard. Suddenly, it opens and Peeta comes tumbling in with me.

"Ouch!" Peeta yelps, I have kicked his prosthetic leg. Can I do anything right these days? Jumping to my feet, I help Peeta lie down on the couch. I turn to sit on the couch opposite him but he grabs me, pulls me down and gives me a kiss.

"You've got to stop doing that!" I scold him playfully.

"But you're so beautiful it's too hard to resist!" says Peeta. I roll my eyes and give him a peck on the cheek before sitting on the other couch.

"Do you want anything?" I'm going to spoil him today.

"Bread."

Never mind. I take back what I said. If I were to ever bake, it would be a burnt blob of stiffness. In my life, I would never bake. Not ever.

"No." I decline childishly. Peeta starts laughing; I cross my arms glaring at him.

"Well, you being here is enough. Just come closer." He tells me and I scoot over. We remain in that position for quite a while until an idea pops into my head.

"Can you walk?" I ask him while stroking his leg.

"Yeah. Where do you want to go?" He pauses and then reads my mind. "The woods?" We both grin; I rush around, packing a small picnic containing apples, cheese and crackers. Then we skip happily, hand in hand to the woods, passing the meadow which still a graveyard right now. The workers say it will be a meadow again soon.

When we get there, I place the picnic basket on the ground and drop to the ground rolling onto my back watching as the clouds float by. Peeta does the same next to me.

"Aren't you going to hunt or something?" he looks at me. I run to get my bow and arrows, surprisingly, it's still there. I notch my arrow and shoot two squirrels in the eye straight away. Even though it isn't much, I'll still shoot a few more things and maybe collect a few roots as well. Satisfied, I run back to Peeta.

"We're going to have some nice squirrel stew tonight!" I call excitedly. My footsteps slow down when I see Peeta leaning with his head on the tree. Running over to him, I place a hand on his shoulder, "Peeta?"

His hand comes and slams into my chest and I crash onto the ground, a stick scraping my eyelid.

"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU MUTT!" he yells at me.

Blood starts oozing out of my wound above just above my eye, it feels like the first games again when Clove's knife cut me in the exact place. Peeta starts kicking me like I'm useless trash. It hurts, not only physically but mentally too. I thought he was okay. That he loved me again, tears start sliding down my cheek as he starts yelling the insults at me.

"You vindictive, deleterious, barbaric piece of filth."

I wasn't that…was I?

"Peeta…" I sob. "Don't do this, please. Come back." My efforts are wasted when I finally sit up because I fall down again when he gives my cheek, bruising it badly. "Peeta, don't leave me." My hands manage to grasp his leg. "PEETA, STOP IT…please. I'm begging you."

My words must have gotten through to him because he stops, when I look up, I see his horrified face. He scrambles away from me quickly after he realises what he's done.

"Peeta?"

"Katniss, oh my gosh. I can't…I'm so sorry." He says, not moving an inch.

"It's okay. Just don't leave me. Can you help me up?" I wipe the blood that leaked out from my wound and realise my ankles have been bruised from Peeta kicking me. He shakes his head.

"I can't. I've heard you badly, I…I…" He doesn't know what to say.

"Please, I forgive you. It's not that bad." He comes over and helps me stand up, but when I put pressure on my left leg, it is too painful for me to handle and I let out a deafening scream and Peeta drops me back on the ground.

"I'm so sorry, Katniss. I didn't mean to, I just couldn't control myself and I understand if yo-" I place a finger on his lips and he stops talking.

"Just, forget about it, okay? I'm fine. Let's eat and go home."

Peeta brings the basket over and we eat a bit before he scoops me up and we walk back. Greasy Sae is cooking something in the kitchen and is mortified when she sees me. Peeta hands her the squirrels and takes me upstairs to lie me down on the bed.

"Sweet dreams." He whispers and turns around to leave. I grab his hand weakly.

"Stay with me?" I get out, my voice squeaky and quiet.

"Always."

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><p><strong>AN – Long chapter for you guys. Well, kind of long? Hope you guys liked it! I can't promise you another chapter will be up tomorrow, but I'll try. I'm going to try update on Saturday on Sunday. (Easter!) When school starts again, I'm going to try and update once or twice a week, depending on how much time I have! **

**Remember to review my lovelies! I've decided, I'll give you a double update when I get to 50 reviews. (:**

**Best Wishes,  
>~KatnissxSwift<strong>


	9. Early Morning Bandages

**A/N - I'm so sorry! I realised I had uploaded chapter 7 this morning. I'm so, so sorry. It was a mistake! Here is the actual chapter 9. And since I got to 55 reviews, I have another chapter for you lovely people!**

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><p><em>Glimmer hovers over me.<em>

"_It's your turn now." She sneers in my face and moves away just as a large tracker jacker nest falls beside me. The tracker jackers fly out rapidly finding their target, me._

_I lay there pathetically, screaming my head off, going mad. Just like Glimmer did when she was attacked._

"_It feels nice to get your own medicine back isn't it?" I head Glimmer shout at me. My eyes shut down at this comment and I sob inwards._

"_Peeta." I moan quietly, hoping he will come save me from this terrible nightmare. The hallucinations come quickly and I'm tossed round and round through a series of horrific events. Death awaits and I hope it comes soon because I don't want to endure this pain any longer, I think it hurt less getting sliced above my eye. Choking out tears, the only thing I want is to see Peeta's face again before I die. Just once, so it will remain with me…forever._

"Katniss, it's not true. It's just a nightmare."

I jolt awake and fall into Peeta's arms, sobbing.

"You left me." I whisper, even though it was only in the nightmare. But Peeta apologises anyway and he comforts me, patting my back and caressing my face while I'm curled up in his arms. Except he won't do the one thing I want him to. He won't kiss me. "Peeta."

"Yes?" he responds still patting my face. I pull away and face him in the night; everyone's asleep, I'm pretty sure. The words come out, and when I do speak, I choke out words that were not related to anything I wanted to say.

"Don't ever leave me again."

Peeta chuckles at this, "You know I won't." I nod and start mentally slapping myself for not being brave enough to ask him. "Are you feeling okay? Like your eye wound? I tried taking care of it, but I can't heal like you."

My hand instantly flies up above my eye. It's bandaged.

"I'm fine, thanks." I smile at him. "I'm just going to the bathroom." I swing my legs over the bed and step down. Once my left leg is on the ground and I start standing up, I crash onto the ground again and scream.

"OWWWWW!"

Peeta scrambles over to me while I choke out sobs pathetically from the pain. Why? I've never cried about this kind of pain before, I've been through worse. A lot worse. I've been on fire before, and this was just like a sprained ankle.

"I think I've sprained it." I tell him hoping he will calm down, but he doesn't. He just gets more worried and paces around the room thinking of what to do. My body can't tell him to stop; I don't need help from doctors. I need him.

The clock reads 2:30a.m. Peeta's wracking his brain for ideas and I'm on the ground holding my left ankle. As least I'm not sobbing anymore, that's an improvement from the last ten minutes. Suddenly, he has a light bulb moment. I wonder what his idea is this time.

"Katniss! Let's go call your mother." Says Peeta excitedly like he's just solved an impossible case.

"No." I breathe out. How could he even think that? There was no way I would torture her by making her come down. More like, I wouldn't torture myself by having her around, weeping for Prim. The thought of this makes me fall onto the ground and lie there, crying silently. I couldn't save her, I wasn't quick enough. I was helpless. Not only has this created a hole in my already half hollowed heart, it's made my mother leave me as well. At least there's a little spark of happiness in the midst of this sadness and that was Peeta, my boy with the bread. Well, my mother was actually working at a proper hospital now. Surely that is making her happy.

"I'm sorry." He starts pacing around the room again, thinking hard.

"Stop." I tell him and he looks at me stunned. "I'm okay. Can you just get the bandages for me?" Peeta stares at me for a while before going to get the bandages. He comes back to my room and I grapple the roll from him. Then, he fetches the scissors. By the time he's back, I've wrapped the bandage around my ankle already and take the scissors. After I cut it, I use the velcro grip to join the two pieces together. I think I've done the right thing; I'm not sure because I have never actually bandaged anything before, I have only see glimpses of my mother do it.

"You're amazing." says Peeta in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, you should see my mother." I roll my eyes at him. He obviously hadn't seen professional doctors do this before.

"I don't think I need to." He crouches beside me staring at my lips. I lick my lips with my eyes fixed on his lips too.

With an invisible, with both crash our lips onto each other's at the same time. Peeta wraps his arms around my waist with his hands rubbing my back and I place one hand on his shoulder, the other on his cheek. We keep our lips locked together for a few minutes and then break away for air. My lips self-consciously curl up and he chuckles when he sees me grin at me.

"You're beautiful." He says brushing a piece of stray hair behind my ear.

"So I've been told," I pause and the smile before adding in, "a million times by you."

Peeta then scoops me up and lays me on the bed and climbing in after as I requested. My arm rests on waist and his are the same. We fall asleep peacefully together with no nightmares just like two nights ago. I think Peeta mumbled something into my ear, I wasn't sure because I was already on the verge of falling into a deep sleep but it was something like…

"I love you."

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><p><strong>AN - Okay. Not ****a cliffy…again. ): And not a long chapter. But a bit fluffy! You guys like that right? (:**

**OKAY! 50 REVIEWS GOAL PASSED! THANKS SO MUCH! There will a double update. (: Happy Easter as well! I might get Journey To Fearless for Easter, I'm so excited. (: (: By the way, if you want me to check out your fan fics (THG ones only, sorry!) then just PM me or leave a review and I'll go check it out!**

**Review my sweet darlings!**

**Best Wishes,  
>~KatnissxSwift<strong>


	10. Old Letters

The next time I wake up again, the sun is shining brightly in the sky. The bed feels empty though so I throw the sheets off and find that Peeta's gone; my heart sinks. Sighing, I climb out of bed and change clothes. My ankle feels a bit better and I can walk, well limp because I can't put much pressure on my left leg. Then I brush my teeth and wash my face. When I look up, I see my hair is so messy it seems birds have made a nest in it. Grabbing the comb, I try and run it through strips of hair smoothly. It doesn't work so I end up washing it because it reeks of sweat anyway. Drying it a bit, I walk downstairs and see Peeta has laid a loaf of bread on the table already.

"Good morning." I yawn.

"Morning sunshine," replies Peeta, "actually, you're brighter than the sun." He walks over and plants a kiss on my lips. Greasy Sae walks in and she smiles.

"Should I leave?" she asks. We shake our heads quickly. But that doesn't stop her from smirking a bit. When she does, I blush a bright crimson which makes her laugh. "Okay then. I saved the squirrel for tonight. Do you think you can shoot a rabbit?" She nods at my bandage left ankle and I shake my head apologising. "Don't apologise! Tonight's stew will be great." With that, she starts cleaning the house. I sit down and Peeta cuts a slice of bread for me, placing it on my plate.

"It's fresh." When he says this, I bury my face in it taking in the warmness and cinnamon making him chuckle.

"What?" I shoot him a look and he raises his arms dropping the knife.

"Woah. It's just that I've never seen someone do that before. I don't what it's like to be 'excited' to see fresh bread because I've been living in a bakery for my whole life." He tells me simply and lowers his arms to slice some bread for himself. We have a nice breakfast, making small talk. He asks me what I want to do and I reply simply saying that my ankle should heal before I do anything needing a lot of physical strength, like hunting. He agrees. When we're done, he washes the plates. At first, I try to help but he pushes me back down on the seat.

"I can handle that you know." I say wishing he wouldn't prevent me from doing anything.

"You should rest for a while before you start standing or walking for long periods of time." He replies. "Rest on the couch." Even though I'm kind of annoyed at him, I do as he says because it's probably true. Moving aside come cushions, I lie on the couch with my left foot propped up on a small pillow. Peeta comes over shortly.

"You don't have to babysit me. I'm fine." I tell him when I see his worried face trying to laugh it off. But he doesn't find this funny. Not at all.

"It's not funny Katniss. I hurt you badly." His words make me sigh. Maybe it was his fault but I wasn't angry at him. The only person I was furious at was President Snow. He made Peeta like this. Thinking of him just made me clench my fists.

"It's not your fault Peeta."

He just shakes his head, "Don't you understand?"

"No."

"I don't know why you let me stand this close to you anyway." He mutters, I'm not sure if it was supposed to be for himself because it was quiet, but still loud enough so I could hear it.

"It's not your fault." I repeat angrily. Why couldn't he just forget it? I already forgave him and I was absolutely fine. A few bruises, a scar and a sprained ankle. It wasn't _that _bad and it hardly hurt.

"Katniss, stop it." He sort of yells at me.

"No. You stop it Peeta. I'm okay!" I yell at him, a lot louder than he did. He touches my ankle and I let out a strangled cry of pain.

"See?" He thinks for a while before making his mind up, "I'm going to try and keep my distance from you." Then he picks up his things and casually strolls out the front door. I have to bite my lip real hard to stop the tears escaping. But they do anyway. Peeta just left me and I had never felt so lonely. Not even when he was in the Capitol. I knew why the pain in my chest feels worse than before, because we had just grown closer before his mind just had to go off and we were separated again. He was still here in District 12, but he wasn't with me. Even though he lives next door, he's left me.

Later, I hear Greasy Sae put my lunch down on the table before leaving as well. It smells delicious but I have no appetite and it'll stay the same until he comes back. The phone starts ringing so I carefully limp over and answer.

"Hello, it's Katniss." I croak and my mother's voice responds.

"Katniss," she tries to sound cheerful but it's not working, "I just wanted to see how you were going." My hand slams the phone down and I bury my head into them, bawling my eyes out. The phone rings again and I just ignore it, not wanting to talk to my mother. A short message plays and it's not my mother, it's Peeta.

"Eat you lunch. You can't starve yourself." Then it stops.

My feet kick the telephone off the table and I start screaming. I'm pretty I've gone mad and I don't care. My throat starts to hurt, but I don't stop, I just keep screaming my lungs out until a hand clamps over my mouth.

"SHUT UP SWEETHEART!"

My head whips around and sees Haymitch. He retrieves his hand when he's sure I'm not screaming anymore.

"Are you mad or something?" He shouts at me. My voice box doesn't let me answer, that's when I realise I've probably lost my voice so I nod at him. His palm makes contact with my face and it does sting but it's nothing compared to the growing pain in my chest. "What the hell are you thinking?" Then he adds something with a smirk knowing it will annoy me, "Mockingjay." My hand doesn't have enough energy to slap him back so I sit there and give him a death glare. This goes for a few minutes before my voice decides to come back.

"Peeta won't talk to me." I say making him sigh.

"Did he have an episode?" He doesn't let me answer because he figures it out first, "It's hard on him."

"I forgave him." I spit. Haymitch always tried to sound so smart when he actually wasn't making me the stupid one.

"Well, what you would say if you injured someone you loved badly?" He hisses back at me. My mind tries to conjure up a good comeback, but nothing comes out so Haymitch continues, "You would feel the same. Why not understand him for once?" I open my mouth up to speak but he doesn't let me talk. "Try reading these first." He stands up and shoves a bunch of letters into my arms. Then he leaves, slamming the door.

All the letters are from the same person. I don't need to open the letters to find out, I can tell by the handwriting on the envelope. Before reading the letters, I spend 15 minutes sorting them out from oldest to newest using the dates written at the corner of each envelope, then I gently open the first one.

_Dear Katniss,_

_Dr Aurelius says that writing letters will help my therapy. I started writing to Annie and Johanna but they both said that writing to them wouldn't really help as much as writing to you. That's why you are reading this letter now._

_I just wanted to tell you how much I miss you and how I look forward to coming home. Are the houses being rebuilt in the Seam and in town? I want to start the bakery again. I want to see Delly and her bubbly personality again. I want to see how Haymitch is doing. I want to know all the things that you've been doing while I've been gone and everything that's been happening outside the four walls I'm trapped in. Most importantly, I want to make sure you're okay. Dr Aurelius says I can go home in a few months or maybe even weeks. It depends on how quickly I recover._

_Until next time,  
>Peeta<em>

After finishing reading the first letter, I don't think I can get through another 10 or 15 because they make me feel so guilty. He wrote all these letters that ended up in the corner, invisible to my miserable life. Maybe I was his only hope. When I didn't write back, I'm sure the hope turned into dust, slowly fading away. No. There had to be some hope left. Otherwise he wouldn't have come back. Pushing my confused thoughts away, I pick up the next letter.

_Dear Katniss,_

_I was quite disappointed when you didn't write back. I asked the nurses every day to see if a letter came from you. Every one of them shook their heads. I'm starting to get worried. Are you okay?_

_This was just a short letter. Please write back, I'll be waiting._

_Waiting for your reply,  
>Peeta<em>

A sole tear rolls down my cheek and onto the letter. Each time I didn't write back, he was getting more worried. I'm really starting to hate myself now. If only I had worked up the courage to read these letters and reply. If only I hadn't been living my life on the couch completely dead to the world. If only I had been Peeta who was suffering a worse situation then me but was still hopeful. I spend the rest of day reading his letters. My eyes are red and puffy by the time I get to the last one which I shakily open.

_Dear Katniss,_

_This is the last letter I'm writing to you because I'm coming home in 3 days. You have no idea how excited I am. I'm going to see you soon._

_You haven't written back to any of my letters. But I have enjoyed writing to you. I kept writing to Johanna and Annie just to keep myself busy. I also started writing to Beetee and Delly. She really misses District 12. She'll be going back though, once her house has finished building. Anyway, you'll see me soon, Katniss._

_Yours sincerely,  
>Peeta<em>

Greasy Sae doesn't come around to make dinner and I assume the squirrel stew will have to wait until tomorrow. At the table, I force my cold lunch down my throat and have gotten halfway through it before I rush over to the sink and it comes out again. The smell is putrid so I turn on the tap, washing it down the drain. I wander over to the couch and watch the fire till I fall asleep wishing Peeta's arms were around me to stop the nightmares.


	11. Tantrums

The sound of someone crashing into my house makes me bolt up. I watch as Greasy Sae staggers through the door. She looks at me and apologises but I wave it off.

"How's Peeta?" I whisper and she sighs.

"I don't know. He hasn't left his house." She replies before going to make breakfast. Guilty, that's what I felt like. Really guilty.

"You might want to go talk to him." Sae adds while frying some bacon. I move my left leg over carefully and then stand up. Surprisingly, I can feel absolutely no pain at all. Maybe it healed. Probably not.

"I can walk!" I shout excitedly to Sae. She doesn't respond and I realise she probably won't until I talk to Peeta, which I won't do anytime soon, unless it's telling me to go to eat lunch or something like that. Instead of doing what she wants me to do, I go into my room and sit on my messy bed and sigh. I wish I could work up the courage to go and face Peeta, but I can't. He wanted to stay away from me so I should respect his decision and keep my distance. Gale probably wouldn't do that to me, ever. He just stuck around me when he needed to. _'Not him!' _I think furiously. Gale left me…and he killed Prim. _'KATNISS! I told you not to think about that. He didn't know.' _I silently yell at myself. This was driving me insane. My knees buckled when I stood up and I went crashing onto the ground. I didn't care that my ankle hurt now, all I did was bury my head into my hands and sob quietly. Both of them left me. Peeta came back, but he's left me now. _'Stupid Capitol. Stupid President Snow. Why did you torture Peeta?' _I scream in my head. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO CHANGE MY BOY WITH THE BREAD?" The words _actually_ come out this time and I decided the rest will be too. "I HATE YOU PRESIDENT SNOW. I HATE YOU."

Then, I'm lost for words. I'm pathetic.

He's dead. Why would I scream to someone who is dead and not here? Why would I ask why Snow tortured Peeta when I know the answer? Why would tell someone that I hated him when he knew? There was only one response. I've gone mental.

This is all Peeta's fault. If only he hadn't had his flashbacks, none of this would have happened. Who knows? He could be baking cheese buns in my kitchen right now. _'If only…' _My thoughts trail off because I know I'm going to repeat my whole rant from earlier again. Another idea pops into my head. Maybe if I screamed and cried enough, Peeta would come to my aid. Haymitch would probably come and bark insults at me. But I couldn't care less. Peeta came first and I could deal with Haymitch later. I rested on my bed and started screaming, crying…everything that was loud. All I did was throw a tantrum, rolling around on the bed, kicking sheets off and bashing the pillows together. Still, Peeta did not come. I started screaming his name and throwing anything I could find including a lamp and a glass of cold water. When I heard footsteps rushing up the stairs, I stopped, wishing it was him. Immediately after I saw the face, my heart sank.

"ARE YOU MENTAL?" Sae breathes in frustration. That actually scares me, I've never seen her angry in the 18 years of my life. "The whole of District 12 has been knocking on the door complaining while I repeatedly apologise. He is not coming, Katniss. Stop hoping." With that, she threw the cloth in her hand on the ground and stomped away. A few seconds later, I hear the front door slam. Maybe I went too far. I should just see Peeta. So I jump off my bed and walk to the doorway of my bedroom then change my mind and start walking back again.

I repeat this process for a few minutes, my mind going crazy. One second, I'm firm on my decision to see Peeta, then the next, I worry he's going to hate me and I can't face him. What happened to the Katniss who volunteered for her sister at the reaping? What happened to the Katniss who won the 74th Hunger Games? What happened to the Katniss who survived the 3rd Quarter Quell? What happened to the old Katniss who could do _anything_? She was lost in the midst of this rebellion. Becoming the Mockingjay cost her life. Now she didn't know who she was anymore. The new Katniss Everdeen has break downs every so often. The new Katniss is not strong anymore. She cannot do anything. She lives in fear of everything. I repeat what the doctors in District 13 told me to do when I was losing control…with a few tweaks. _My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am eighteen years old. My home is District 12. I was in the Hunger Games. I escaped. I lead the rebellion. Now there is no Hunger Games. Now there is peace._ I take a few deep breaths and make my way downstairs to the telephone. It's a bit dusty since I haven't used it for a while. Then I flick through the phone book and look for Peeta's number. I decided it's best if I called him first. Keeping my breath steady, I quickly push the numbers and then wait. Finally, he picks up.

"Hello? This is Peeta Mellark speaking." answers Peeta.

"Uhm…hi Peeta. It's uh…Katniss." I shakily get out.

"Oh…" his voice sounds like a mix between fear and sadness. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I'm actually thinking of talking to you. Is it okay if I get there in about…10 minutes?" I answer with a steadier voice.

"Okay. I'll see you soon. Bye."

"Bye." Then I put the receiver down. I run back to my room and inspect my wardrobe, wanting to wear something pretty. Except, all the 'pretty' things were frilly and didn't match me. In the end, I just throw on jeans and a green t-shirt. Then quickly hopping down the stairs, two at a time, I slip on my coat and then open the door. I quickly put my shoes on and then look up, ready to go visit Peeta.

But I see Gale.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – Okay! I know, I know. You guys hate me. I haven't updated in like…a billion years! But I'm really sorry, I had writer's block. I tried to write a bit every day, but I seriously didn't get very much done. So, I'm just so sorry. I hope you did enjoy that chapter though.**

**Catching Fire is coming out on November 22, 2013! Yay! :D By the way, I have a tumblr. It would mean the world to me if you checked it out. (: It's: .com. (Don't follow if you don't like Taylor Swift because I wouldn't want to annoy you with my posts. But I do also have a lot of THG posts.)**

**Okay, that's a long author's note. So anyway, the point is – I hate writer's block. I couldn't write. I'm sorry. So next chapter might not come very soon. And…yeah. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. (Hehe, cliffy) And please review. I love reviews!**

**~KatnissxSwift**


	12. Forgiving

_But I see Gale._

I open my mouth to say something but he cuts me off by enveloping me in a hug, kissing my head. My arms self-consciously wrap around him too. He finally pulls away and looks at me with sad eyes.

"Catnip."

"What do you want Gale?" I say in a sharper voice than I had been meaning to. My mind has been wondering whether to forgive Gale or not for a few weeks. To forgive would mean putting what he had done behind me and forget, to not forgive would be hating him for what he did for the rest of my life. It wouldn't be fair on him because he didn't know that it was his bomb that killed Prim.

"To talk." He replied simply knowing I was impatient and wanted a short answer getting to the point. Sighing, I step aside and let him in, all thoughts of visiting Peeta vanishing. Gale rests on a couch and I slip into the one opposite him. We sit there silently before he starts.

"How are you?" He scratches is head and looks at me.

"Fine." I reply distinctly and cross my arms. "Gale…"

"Alright! I'll get on with it."

"Good."

"I still love you." He blurts out. "I've never stopped loving you. I thought about you every second in District 2. I love you Katniss."

His words shock me and I don't know how to handle it. It was too much to take in.

"You killed her." I manage a whisper, quiet but angry.

"That's why I left. To give you some space. But now we can have what we wanted." He walks over and slides an arm around my waist. "We can be together." This frustrates me and I slap his arm away.

"Gale. No."

He retreats back to the other couch and stares at me.

"I didn't know." He says seriously. "I didn't know that would ever harm her, Katniss, you have to forgive me." I told myself I would. I just told myself at the door that I would forgive him at the door a few minutes ago. My mind is at war and my eyes it swirling with venom as I stare at him. Finally, I give up.

"I forgive you." I barely breathe out. I've put everything behind me now, it's over. No more hating Gale. It was going to be hard sometimes, but I had to do it. He couldn't be an obstacle my whole life.

"Really?" He wraps his arm around me and tries to kiss me but I manage to stop his face with my hand.

"That doesn't mean we're…together. I'm with…" I trail off.

"Peeta?" He finishes. Was I with Peeta? "Is this what it is? You love him?" I nod and his fists clench.

"You can't hurt him." I state. "If you hurt him, you'll regret it forever." If he hurt Peeta, I would hurt him. Even though I had just forgiven him and he was my best friend. If he laid one finger on my boy with the bread, I would make him pay.

"I understand." He raises his arms up in defeat. "You're taken. Came back just a little too late." Shaking his head, he sighs before reaching for the door.

"Where are you staying?" I don't know why I asked that. He was probably going back to District 2 since I rejected him. Gale could get anyone he wanted in Two. But he probably doesn't want anyone…other than me.

"My old house." His words take me by surprise. He obviously means the new house built on the same place as his old house. "Might take some squirrels down too." A smirk greets me before Gale leaves.

I'm just about to go upstairs before I realised that I have my coat on. My feet freeze and I just ponder for a while. Then it hits me. I was supposed to be visiting Peeta. Silently cursing, I run to the door, fumble with the knob for a while before slipping my shoes on and stepping onto the doorstep. Taking a few deep breaths, I steadily move over to Peeta's door. My hand is an inch away from his door when it opens.

"Didn't think you'd come." He greets me with a fake smile, hurt evident in his voice.

"I had other things…" I mumble, not wanting to say that Gale turned up on my doorstep and I forgot about visiting him.

"Mmm…" He nods slowly and lets me in.

"It's…uh…looking better around here." I say awkwardly, not knowing how to start the conversation. He forces a smile and nods.

"Yeah…I've worked hard to try and restore this place. It was a mess and I first came back." He laughs slowly.

"Probably from the…bombing." My voice lowers and I mentally slap myself for saying that because I could have just set off another memory. Peeta's family did die from the bombing. He grips the couch tightly with his eyes closed and I'm prepared to escape before he opens them and relaxes.

"Sorry." He apologises. "I just can't…you know…"

"Don't worry." Then there is an uncomfortable silence. We sit there for a few minutes just staring at our hands before he coughs.

"I…wanted to ask you…something." His eyes dart all around the room and I raise my eyebrows.

"…sure…" I reply. He runs to the drawers and comes back with a little box.

"Well…in the time that I was here alone, I was thinking…" He kneels to the ground and opens the box, revealing a gold ring with a small diamond on it. On the back, it has the word 'always' engraved on it.

I gasp, "Peeta…"

"Miss Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN CLIFFY! This took me over a month to write. (Sorry) It was really hard. I hope I'll be updating more often now. But I can't promise. Writer's block is really annoying me. I am really busy as well. Above all that, I'm sick. [sigh]**

**I really hoped you enjoyed that chapter because I worked REALLY hard on it. It would make my day if you reviewed.**

**Best Wishes,  
>~KatnissxSwift<strong>


	13. Tree House

"_Miss Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me?"_

In that moment, I've never been more stunned. My hands clutch the couch as my breathing quickens. My whole world is spinning as I take in one line Peeta has said. My mind is telling me that Peeta's getting impatient and that I have to give him an answer. My lip trembles as I finally speak.

"I…I'm sorry Peeta."

Then I flee to the woods, but not before I see the hurt expression on Peeta's face. I collapse on the ground and the tears escape. I cry for ages, cursing myself. No matter how hard I try, I'm always going to hurt Peeta. I always do. The expression he had on his face shatters my heart into a million pieces.

I'm just a coward.

Too scared to be happy.

Too scared to love.

Too scared to say yes.

Because I know that I will hurt someone if I am brave enough. But I still hurt people when I'm a coward. I'm hurting people no matter what I do. And I hate that.

After a while, I stop crying, stand up and remove my bow and arrow from its hiding place. I take a few squirrels down and set some snares. The memories from yesterday flood back and I let a few tears escape. My rage for the Capitol comes again. I grip my bow tightly but it's not enough so I drop it and start banging at the tree. More tears roll down my cheek. '_It was all supposed to be better now. Snow is gone. But why does it hurt even more?' _I think hopelessly. My life was supposed to be quiet and dull. I was supposed to move on and keep doing the things I did before everything happened. Before Prim was reaped, before I fought for my life in the arena, before the rebellion. I was supposed grow old and pass away without anybody realising.

I'm pathetic.

I'm selfish.

And Peeta should have never fallen in love with me.

Without me realising, the evening comes. I wonder whether to go back or stay in the woods for the night. The idea of running away crosses my mind as well. But I decided to stay in the woods. I remember when I was 10, I found a tree house in one of the tall trees. My father made a on the trunk so that whenever we were in the woods and couldn't find one another, we would wait patiently in the tree house. The memory floods back.

"_Daddy!" I shout excitedly, "Look what I found." He looks up at the tree I was in and I poked my head out of my new discovery, a tree house high up in the canopies._

"_Am I invited to come up?" He calls gently and smiles. I nod. My father climbs up steadily and in a few minutes, he joins me. "It's like someone built it just for you."_

_I giggle and it echoes through the woods, the mockingjays start mimicking my giggle as well and my father smiles again, "Even your laugh is so melodious."_

_We sit there for a while in silence before I suggest getting back to hunting. He agrees but holds me back when I try to climb down the tree. My face responds in confusion._

"_Should we make this our special place?" he asks. I nod quickly and he continues, "So whenever we're lost, can't find each other or just want to be alone, we come here?"_

"_That's sounds nice." I smile and we both climb down, ready to resume our hunt._

I climb up the tree into our special tree house and just lean against the wall. I'm thinking about spending the night here. My jacket is warm enough and the tree house has a door and no windows so I won't have to worry about the moonlight keeping me up.

The afternoon falls into evening quickly and I cook a rabbit that I caught earlier. I savour each bite as I chew on the meat. After finishing my small dinner, I gather my things, ready to sleep. Just as I lay my head down, I hear someone calling me.

"Katniss!"

It's Peeta. My hands cover my ears immediately. He's the last person I want to see now, after I broke his heart just a few hours before. His voice grows nearer.

"Katniss. Please answer me." He cries. "I don't want you to be sick. It's freezing. Please just go back home."

I squeeze my hands over my ears tighter and shut my eyes but I can't get him off my mind. Maybe I should just go down. He's not going to hurt me. But, it's going to be too awkward. I hear his footsteps and realise he's under my tree. _What if he tries to climb it? _I think. A picture of Peeta falling and hurting himself flashes in my mind. That makes up my mind. I scramble up and throw the door open.

"Peeta! I'm coming down." I call down and I start climbing down. But I slip when I'm halfway down. My eyes squeeze shut as I drop down and crash onto the ground.

"KATNISS!" I hear Peeta scream and hurry over. "Please…don't…Katniss."

"I'm alright." I breathe out. His fingers fumble onto my wrist and he breathes in relief. I'm being pulled into unconsciousness but I manage to say one more thing before I fall into a world of blackness.

"Yes, I'll marry you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN – Your long awaited chapter. It's almost been a month.  
>I hope the next chapter will come sooner. (:<strong>

**Please review. Your reviews inspire me to write. I also love it when you guys say 'I love this story' or 'you're such a good writer.' That is really nice! :D**

**Anyway, love you guys and thank you so much for being patient!**

**Best Wishes,  
>~KatnissxSwift<strong>


	14. Real Or Not Real?

It's been three weeks since Peeta proposed; three weeks since I accepted and we're growing even closer. Peeta has moved into my home in the Victor's Village. It spent a week for him me to convince him that we should live in the same room. He was worried it would be uncomfortable for me but one day when he was out to buy ingredients for a new recipe he found in his house, I moved his things over to my room. He finally gave in. That night when I woke up from a nightmare, his arms were around me instantly, not like when he was in the guest room, he had to run up the stairs first.

So every night when I wake from a nightmare, his arms are around me immediately and after I calm down, he asks me, "You love me, real or not real?"

And I say, "Real." before pressing my lips to his.

Today, Peeta cooked me lamb stew and I spent ages eating it because I kept got caught up with the kiss I gave Peeta to thank him for a wonderful breakfast. When he pulled away, I tugged at his shirt and he shook his head saying I needed to finish my breakfast. I frowned at him and finally finished my lamb stew.

"How was it?" he asks nervously.

"Brilliant," I smile at him and wrap my arms around him, "just like my perfect fiancé." He pecks my lips quickly and moves to another chair, knowing we will get caught up in another heated kiss if he waits another second. "What's the plan for today?"

"It's up to you." He replies.

"Why don't we play a game?" I suggest.

"Real or not real?"

Then there is an uncomfortable silence. Real or not real was the game we played when Peeta was hijacked to help him sort out his memories. I wondered brought it up since he hasn't had any hijacking tantrums lately.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have said that." He apologises.

"No…it's fine. We can play it." I exhale slowly.

"Are you sure."

"One hundred percent." I force a tight smile.

Peeta starts off with, "You missed in District 13."

"Real."

Then he says, "You were excited when I came back."

"Real."

"You were really happy when you saw me."

"Real."

He squeezes his eyes shut and states in a quiet face, "You hated me after I tried to kill you."

"Not real."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" He shouts.

"I'M NOT LYING! I WAS JUST SHOCKED! I only hated you after you called me a filthy mutt. After you called me all these insulting words. After you made it clear that you hated me and I took you for granted." Then I flee to our room, lock the door and collapse on my bed.

_This is a great. We're getting married in three weeks and we've just had a fight about something stupid_, I think to myself.

I don't leave the bed for the rest of the day except to eat. Peeta left my lunch just outside the door earlier and said, "I'm leaving your lunch here Katniss. Please eat it; I'm going to go buy some supplies for breakfast tomorrow." When I was sure he left, I pushed open the door and snatched my lunch. I shoved the food down quickly which caused me to vomit it all back out later.

When dusk came, Peeta knocked on the door quietly.

"I'm not sure you still want to go but remember we planned on going to the new restaurant that just opened up in town?" he asks quietly.

I do remember.

District 12 is starting to seem more like a proper district now. Last week, a train brought some more people from District 13 home. One of the people was Delly. When Peeta locked eyes with Delly he enveloped her in a tight hug with tears swimming down both of their cheeks. I know it was wrong, but I was bit envious of her and said in a loud voice, "Delly, Peeta actually proposed to me two weeks ago and I accepted. So, we're getting married in four weeks." Peeta looked at me strangely before he realised that I was jealous and chuckled, making me blush, but Delly just widened her eyes and screamed congratulations with excitement.

Peeta's voice knocks me out of my thoughts.

"I'm guessing you don't want to go…so…um…I'll just cook you something."

I scramble up and change into something nice, before unlocking the door and running down the stairs. When I reach the end, Peeta has already started gathering some ingredients.

"No, let's go." I say. He turns around but doesn't smile when he sees me. A little bit of my heart cracks off. He quickly grabs his coat and we walk to the restaurant, not exchanging a single word or holding hands like we usually do when we travel around the district.

We reach the busy restaurant and sit down facing each other. Peeta hands me the menu quickly before absorbing himself into it. The waiter comes and we order. I just want to be left alone with Peeta but the waiter decides to stay a little longer and talk to us.

"I see, the star-crossed lovers are having dinner together at our restaurant." He says happily.

"We're engaged, actually." I say quickly and slip my fingers into Peeta's so that we're holding hands. Peeta seems a bit hesitant and I know he feels awkward. I wish he didn't.

"Oh really?" the waiter exclaims.

"Yeah. We're so excited, aren't we?" I turn to Peeta.

"Yes. I've loved you since I was five years old and I can't wait to marry you!" He says excitedly before pecking me on the cheek, "I wish I didn't have to wait three more weeks though!"

"I'll leave you two to talk on your own then!" The waiter walks away and the food comes soon after.

I steal glances at Peeta the whole time and he just eats slowly, acting as if I'm not there. We finish the food and leave after Peeta pays the bill.

That night, I climb into bed, waiting for Peeta to come up and climb in as well, but he never does. He's probably sleeping in the guest room then. I sleep by myself for the first time in a while and I feel lonelier than ever.

_Everything will be okay_,I think.

Little did I know that it was about to get so much worse.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – So, next chapter will be about the same kind of situation. The big twist that I have wanted to write the whole time will be happening very soon! ****A VERY UNEXPECTED TWIST! I'll see if any of you can guess. (:**

**I just want to add in that I have had 21,795 views, 98 reviews, 59 favourites and 73 followers on this story, which is HUGE! Thank you so much! I can't believe that I have over tens of thousands of views! This is so amazing! Thank you so much! This has made my month? Year? Well, my birthday is in two days (Thursday, July 12th) and I'm really excited! This is the best birthday present ever. I'm so stoked that you guys love this story so much. :D**

**I'm starting school next week so I might not be able to update very quickly, but as I said, I'm going to try my best.**

**Please review, they make my day!**

**Best Wishes,  
>~KatnissxSwift<strong>


	15. Are You Sure?

**A/N - Little warning, there's a little bit of dirty stuff at the end, but in order to keep it T rated, I didn't go that much into detail.  
>Will say more down the bottom, enjoy!<strong>

* * *

><p>It's been three days since Peeta and I had that horrible fight. Every time I catch his eye, he turns away in shame and breaks eye contact. We don't even eat our meals together anymore. I sit at the table and wait for Peeta to come out from the guest room – which he moved into the night we had the argument – but he never does, he stays locked up in the room by himself and eats there. I was becoming frustrated. Although this situation wasn't entirely Peeta's fault, I wanted to selfishly blame him anyway. Dark thoughts came into my mind all the time, I don't think it will be long before I accuse him of being at fault for every single terrible thing that's happened in my life.<p>

Now, sitting at the dining table, I'm _hoping _that he might join me for dinner. If I was my old self, I would probably be out in the woods, hunting. But I've gone through too much, experienced too many emotions and when I'm depressed, I just can't bring myself to hunt anymore. Agitated, I walked up to the counter, grabbed a knife and stabbed in on the bench. Only then, did I realise I'd just pierced Peeta's bread-making workbench. I frantically pulled it the knife out, tears spilling out of my eyes messily. In my hurried attempt of pulling the knife out from the bench, I dropped it on my toes. An excruciating pain shot through my foot. _What are you doing? You're losing control of yourself,_ I thought. No matter how much it hurt, I couldn't bring myself to scream.

I wept silently on the ground, but Peeta didn't seem to hear it. After a while, I decided to carefully wash the knife and slide it back in its place. I limped to the door and put my coat on. Then I walked out the house, closing the door silently and made my way to Gale's house and knocked. He obviously wasn't expecting me. When he opened his door, shirtless, I saw his grey eyes widen.

"Catnip?" he was utterly surprised. I didn't blame him; I hadn't made him felt very welcome as my best friend when he came back to District 12.

"I didn't mean to intrude. I just need to talk…with my best friend." I looked down at the ground shyly.

"Of course. Come in," his lips curved up a little when he heard the words 'best friend.' Oh how I'd miss those perfect lips of his.

Gale noticed my bleeding foot after the blood stained his carpet when I walked in. He quickly bandaged up my foot before he sat down on the couch with me.

"So…" he started off awkwardly, "you said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Where's your girlfriend?" I blurted out the burning question on my mind.

"What?" he seemed shocked.

"You know…your girlfriend…in District 2."

He was silent for a moment, "Oh Katniss…I never had a girlfriend in District 2."

"No?" I said dubiously.

"I've only ever loved you in my entire life, I loved you then, I love you now and I will always love you until I die. And if I have a life after that, I will love you again."

There was a silence after that. I didn't know how to react. I knew Gale loved me, but I just always thought, with his handsome looks, he'd definitely have had a girlfriend in District 2. When I didn't respond, Gale stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. He went to his refrigerator to grab a bottle of beer. That's when I called out to get me one too. Although he seemed startled and hesitant, he complied with my request. I snatched the bottle out of his hands and chugged the whole thing down quickly. The beer burned in my throat, but I asked for another one anyway.

Gale watched silently as I drank bottle after bottle. He seemed amused by my ability to keep drinking. After my ninth or tenth…maybe even eleventh beer, I wiped my mouth carelessly and sunk into the couch next to him.

"You love me?" I asked, wanting to be reassured that someone in life loved me.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Okay," I grabbed his shoulders and brought his rough lips down onto mine. He stiffened in surprise, reluctant, but when I didn't pull away, he leaned into my lips and relaxed.

It felt as if I was fuelling a fire when I was kissing Gale. When he pulled away, the fire was extinguished.

"Catnip…" his voice was low.

"I don't want to care; I just want a night where I can just not care about anything. Gale, please."

He agreed silently, crushing his lips against mine slowly. His hands swooped down and he picked me up, my legs wrapping around his waist. We went up the stairs, not once breaking our position. When we reached Gale's room, he put me on his soft bed and I threw off my coat. He tugged at my shirt.

"Are you sure?" he asked, not wanting it to seem life he was taking advantage of me being drunk for his pleasure. I groaned in reply. The shirt went across the room. He crawled over me and started sucking on my neck and peppering kisses down my body.

We went on like that for the rest of the night, undressing each other while continuously kissing each other passionately.

Even though going to Gale's house seemed perfectly right at the start, I was going to find out it was a terrible mistake.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Yes, now we're starting the twist in my story. *evil laugh***

**Anyway, I just wanted to apologise for not updating in like a bajillion years. (well, actually about 7 months) I had no motivation for this story and only today, did I sit down and make myself type up a chapter. I'm not sure when my next chapter will come, sorry.**

**I'm sorry if there are heaps of mistakes. I don't proofread my writing and don't have a beta either. This chapter probably wasn't very satisfying, but I do hope you somewhat enjoyed it? I think my writing style has a changed a little, but I reckon I'm better at writing than I was before.**

**Since my last chapter, my story has had over 2,000 more views and more favourites/follows too, so thank you so, so, so, so much for liking my story and of course...waiting! (:**

**Hugs,  
>~KatnissxSwift<strong>


	16. Whatever You Want, Catnip

Fragments of light peeked through the translucent curtains. I stirred, half asleep, in the warm and comfortable bed. An arm was slung lazily around my waist and I grinned. It must have been the first time in ages that I'd shared a bed with Peeta. Then a rough and bulky leg was unexpectedly hoisted over mine. That's when I realised that my body felt strangely…exposed. Suddenly, the room felt suffocating. _That's odd. Peeta sleeps with his windows open, why would the room be so humid? _Then it hit me.

I tried to scramble out of the bed quickly, but with Gale holding me so tightly, it was a useless attempt. So I lay there, waiting for him to loosen his grip. When he did, I made sure I slipped from his grasp carefully. I hurried around the room, throwing on my clothes and every so often, checking to make sure Gale hadn't woken up. And making sure I was silent, I left the room and ran down the stairs. Once at the bottom, I leaned against the wall and slid down in shame. _How could I? _The tears spilled quickly, but I wiped them and ran home.

Peeta was baking bread when I quietly slipped into the house. I tip-toed to the stairs, hoping he wouldn't notice me.

"Katniss?"

I froze, like a child who had been caught stealing a cookie from the jar.

"I'm here."

He came out, wiping his hands on his apron. When I saw his face, I instantly felt guilty. His eyes shined with relief and hugged me tightly.

"I was so worried. I…I wanted to apologise this morning. And you weren't in your bedroom and…I thought I'd lost you and-"

"Shhhh…I'm here now, it's okay," I whispered.

"I'm just so sorry, I was so stupid. I don't know what happened to me. I trust you, Katniss, I really do. The venom just got the better of me. I'm sorry." His face told a story of three sleepless and stressful nights. His intense blue merchant eyes are swollen and his cheeks are stained with tear-tracks. He kissed me, a soft kiss, one that left you craving for more, but after last night, I think I've had enough of hungry passionate kisses for a while.

"Peeta…it was one fight and it was a childish one. If you're going to be husband, you're going to have to deal with a lot more!" I laughed, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

"You're right," he smiled, "by the way, where were you?"

"I…um…I…" I stammered, trying to find an excuse, "I went for walk, to clear my head out. Then I visited Haymitch." I tried to smile convincingly. From the strange look on Peeta's face, I knew he didn't buy it, but he didn't question it either.

"So…what's in for today?"

"Well, I'm baking a cake, but I'm pretty sure I got all the measurements wrong, since I was so anxious. I think I might throw it away. I can bake cheese buns for you, but I'm not sure what _you_ want to do though?" He says.

"I think I might go and have a nap, I did wake up quite early."

* * *

><p>Later, I'm out shopping to buy groceries with a list that Peeta's given me. When I walk into the store, I see a tall man with dark hair. Gale. He walks over immediately when he notices me.<p>

"You left without a word this morning," he sounds disappointed.

"Well…I had other things to get up to," I say firmly.

"Like kissing up bread boy and making up for what we did?" Gale chuckled.

"Don't joke about him. He's my fiancé," I spit.

"He's your fiancé?" He looks hurt.

"Yes, Peeta is my fiancé and we will be married in three weeks," I lower my voice, "last night didn't happen Gale. You got that? Last night didn't _ever _happen."

"Whatever you want, Catnip." Then we turn around and go our separate ways.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I know, short chapter, but I felt that I didn't need to include anything else in the chapter. I just felt like writing today, you probably wouldn't have gotten your chapter until like June or something, so thank me! Nah...I know a lot of other authors update like everyday, but whatever...  
>Please review, they make me happy! (:<strong>

**Best Wishes,  
>~KatnissxSwift<strong>


	17. Aftermath

It happened two weeks after I'd spent the night at Gale's house. The bile climbed all the way up. At first I thought it was a heart burn and I flung myself off the bed and rolled around on the ground clutching my chest. But then it climbed even higher and I felt it burning in my throat. I scrambled to the bathroom just in time and emptied last night's dinner into the toilet.

Tears burned at the back of eyes as I coughed at the last remains of my half-digested food. Peeta's warm hand rubbed my back soothingly, "Are you okay, Katniss?" I blink back the tears and nod my head, the taste of vomit still pulsing in my throat.

"Stay in bed. I'll bring breakfast up," Peeta said.

"No," I shook my head, "I have no appetite to eat, especially after that."

Peeta reluctantly agreed for to me to just rest in the bed for a while. He wanted to take me to the small hospital that had opened up last week and have me checked by a doctor but had to work in the bakery that he started in town a few days ago. I reassured him that I'd be fine and could go on my own, mainly because I was sure of the reason I felt nauseous in the morning and didn't want Peeta to know…yet.

* * *

><p>Everyone became silent when I entered the hospital. Children pointed at me and asked their parents loudly if I was the one who stopped the rebellion and saved everyone. Their parents would become embarrassed and cover the children's mouths, scolding them for being rude, though I could tell they were awestruck too. A little girl with plaited blond hair and vibrant blue eyes walked to me.<p>

"Do you know where my mother is?"

She had striking resemblance to Prim and Madge. Tears started rolling down my face and buried my face into my hands. I choked back a quiet whimper and forced down my sobs, hoping the little girl wouldn't notice.

Too late.

"Why are you crying?" she squeaked, eyes wide and curious.

"Don't worry about it."

"I asked if you knew where my mother was," she said.

"I don't."

"People always tell me she's never coming back, but I don't believe them. They're lying!" she folded her arms in fury, "She promised me she would never go. She's playing hide-and-seek with me," then her eyes became soft and sad, "will you help me find her?"

I opened my mouth and closed it again, looking down since I did not know how to respond. How could I tell her that everyone was right? That her mother was dead and broke her promise. I couldn't. Neither could I comfort her and lie, saying her mother was alive and well and would come back soon.

She smiled sadly, "I know. You think she's gone as well."

Her eyes weren't vibrant anymore. They looked grey.

* * *

><p>Leaving the hospital and entering it were two very different actions characterised by unlike emotions. My stomach was filled with butterflies and I trembled nervously as I entered. When I left, my nails dug into my skin as I stormed out, furious at myself.<p>

The doctor had confirmed my suspicions.

I kicked pebbles and sticks about as I wandered home. My whole body felt cold. Even the thick coat that I'd wrapped around myself couldn't warm me. Life seemed like a joke. I could almost laugh at the mess I'd gotten into, like it wasn't real. Katniss Everdeen wasn't like this, she would never sleep with her old best friend when she was engaged. Hell, she wouldn't even allow herself to sleep with anyone or become engaged. _I'm not Katniss Everdeen anymore. _The thought was horrifying. I was everything I'd promised myself I'd never become.

Since I'd been looking down at the dusty ground the whole time, I had no idea where I was going. So when I found myself staring at Gale's front door, I wasn't surprised. Taking a deep breath and a guilty look at Peeta's house, I knocked on the hard wood.

"Come in, it's unlocked," Gale's voice drifted towards me.

I opened the door with shaky hands and slowly walked towards the kitchen. He turned around lazily obviously not expecting me. His relaxed face became one that was painted with surprise and a hint of happiness.

"Catnip," he breathed, "um…hey."

"Hi."

"Would you like anything to drink? You look freezing," he seemed uneasy.

"Yeah, hot cocoa would be good," I answered, wanting to delay me telling him the real purpose I showed up.

"So…" he placed the steaming mug in front of me. I immediately wrapped my hands around it and sighed in relief, earning a chuckle from Gale.

"You might be wondering why I'm here," I stir the cocoa, not looking up.

"You think?"

"I've got something to tell you…" I pause and whisper, "It's about two weeks ago."

"Katniss…I-"

"Don't," I look at him with pleading eyes.

"Just say it, Katniss," he plays with the edge of his shirt.

"I'm having your child."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - The story's wrapping up soon...about 3 or 4 more chapters to go. I'm going to try and update more frequently...but I don't think it's going to work out very well, sorry.  
>I hope you enjoyed that and please review! I've had so many reviews saying that I'm a really good writer and they sometimes feel as if it's Suzanne Collins writing this story - that means <em>the world <em>to me and I'm really glad, but honestly, I'm no where near Suzanne Collins and all those other authors' amazingness. Anyway, thanks for all your love and support!  
><strong>

**~KatnissxSwift**

**P.S: I might decide to write a Mortal Instruments x Divergent cross-over after I've finished this one. I'm just wondering, would any of you read it?**


	18. Forever

Peeta and I have agreed on a dress that's not too extravagant. I'm wearing a replica of Annie's wedding dress, except white. Those several agonising hours of dress-fitting are ones that I hope I never have to go through again. But I won't have to…will I?

Annie came down a few days ago to finalise her wedding plans, including hiring a preacher from District 1 and a decorator from District 8. We'd told her not to make it so big, that we wanted it to be small, but she'd just winked mischievously and obviously ignored our words.

I'm really thankful for Annie though, with her running about with her orders for the wedding, because it distracts me from my mistake. I wish the wedding would come sooner, because every minute it doesn't, the ball of guilt in my stomach grows.

"_I'm having your child." I whisper._

"_Come again?" Gale's face is painted with shock, fear and a hint of victory._

"_You child is growing inside of me, Gale!" I bang my fists on the table, "I knew I should have never come that night. It was a terrible mistake. I just needed…" The tears spill. Rough, muscular arms pull me into a tight hug._

_Gale's arms._

_The wrong arms._

"_Get off me," I push him away and wipe my tears quickly._

"_Does Peeta know about this?" he stumbles backwards, dusting his shirt off._

"_Do you think I'm an idiot?" I snap, "No. And if you dare tell him, you will be begging on your knees for mercy."_

"_The hormones are starting," Gale chuckles, and I've never wanted to slap him as much as I did in that moment._

_So I did._

"_CATNIP!" he holds his red cheek, his expression a mix between betrayal and rage._

"_It's Katniss for you," I say firmly before I turn my heel and stomp away._

He's been trying to catch my eye ever since that argument. I can tell he is genuinely sorry, and no matter how much I want to apologise to him, my pride doesn't let me and I end up giving in a hostile glare before I leave.

* * *

><p>"How was your day?" Peeta asks when I come back from hunting.<p>

"Fine."

"Good work," he points to the overflowing bag of game I caught.

"Hm."

"I think we can make squirrel stew today," he holds a squirrel by the tail.

"Yeah."

"What's with all the one-worded answers? Is something bothering you?"

"No."

"See?"

"Hm."

"Talk to me, Katniss," Peeta sits down on the couch and gestures for me to sit next to him. I oblige.

I lie in his arms for a while, before I decide to ask him, "Peeta, will you ever stop loving me?"

"No."

"No? That's it?"

"Well it's as simple as 'no.'"

"But what if I did something really bad?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But something that really hurt you."

"Katniss, I've been in love with you since I was 5. I don't think it is possible for me to stop loving you," he holds my face in his hands and looks me straight in the eye, "I always have and I always will."

"Forever?"

"Forever."

* * *

><p>"Hey," I pull Gale into a small alley between two shops a few days later.<p>

"Um…hi?" he scratches the back of his neck nervously.

"Don't come to the wedding tomorrow."

"But I rece-"

"I mean it, Gale."

"Katniss, I have a right to be there as your best friend."

"Please, Gale, I'm begging you. It's for your own good."

"For my own good? I think I can choose what is good for me by myself."

"Gale, lis-"

"No, Katniss, you listen. You don't have the right to tell me what is good for me and what is not. And if I want to be there, I will," he shoves me aside and walks out, shoes rubbing loudly on the gravel.

_I beg you Gale, please, please don't come._ I can feel it. Something bad is going to happen tomorrow.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - SHORT CHAPTER I KNOW. Oh yeah, I know in chapter 17 I said that there was going to be 3 or 4 chapters left, but I forgot what I was originally going to write about, so...the next chapter is the final chapter. (: I've been wanting to write this for agesssssss! And by the way, I never proof-read my chapters before posting them, so it will explain the mistakes.**

**I WROTE THIS CHAPTER TODAY BECAUSE I WATCHED CITY OF BONES AND I JUST CAN'T CALM DOWN AND OMFG EVEN NOW I'M STILL SHAKING. I was mentally and emotionally unprepared and I have lost the ability to even. I just...**

**Anyway, please watch _The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones _so we can get a GODDAMN CITY OF GLASS movie.**

**Best Wishes,  
>~ KatnissxSwift<strong>


	19. Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

There was something different in the air. Something I couldn't grasp.

Peeta had been whipped away this morning, as Effie insisted, "The groom and the bride cannot see each other until the ceremony!"

I'd slipped on my gown and had been sitting in this chair for three hours already. My stomach started knotting together and they weren't nerves, they definitely weren't nerves. It was something else. Something I also couldn't grasp. But it felt like something would go wrong at the wedding. Something very wrong. '_Please don't make something go wrong,_' I pray, '_for Peeta. He deserves to be happy._' I wasn't so sure about myself though.

I stare at my stomach in the mirror and wonder how long it will take until people realise, until I can no longer fool them with the words, "I'm just sick." I desperately hope it doesn't happen soon, hell, I hope it _never _happens. I can't begin to imagine everyone's disgusted faces, and especially not Peeta's betrayed one.

"You're really out of it today, Katniss," Annie says, "Is everything okay?"

I contemplate telling her the truth, but Effie yells out a satisfying answer for me instead.

"It's just the nerves! Didn't you feel nervous when you were about to marry Finnick?"

Everyone becomes silent and turns away from Annie.

Effie bites her lip after she realises what she'd just said, "Oh, I'm sorry, Annie. I didn't realise."

"It's fine, really," She plants on a happy grin. A fake one.

* * *

><p>Gale shows up.<p>

Despite Effie's constant bickering of "no, you can't come in" and "you can't see her until the ceremony" and "be patient," he still comes in anyway. This causes Effie to cross her arms and huff, "Where are people's manners these days?"

"Can I talk to you?" Gale asks and eyes Annie with annoyance when she stands there obviously, "Privately?"

Annie shoots me an anxious look when she leaves me and Gale alone.

"So?" I snap, clearly agitated. But it doesn't faze him.

"You're really going ahead with the wedding?" He seems amused.

"Yes, of course," I narrow my eyes, "why?"

"I mean," Gale smirks and points to my stomach, "what about this?"

"What about it?"

"It's our child," he whispers, "you and _me_."

"Shut up."

"Don't deny it, Katniss. The child binds us together," he laughs.

"Get out," I breathe.

"Oh Katn-"

"I said get out."

"People are going to find out sooner or later. And I think they'd like the former."

"Get out!" I scream, "And don't you dare come to the wedding."

"Dear me, the hormones are starting," he winks at me before slipping out the door.

I know I'll be a dead pig when Annie finds I've ruined the make-up on my face.

* * *

><p>The ceremony begins later than we'd liked.<p>

Annie has outdone herself with the wedding, because the place looks absolutely beautiful. You would have never guessed that six feet down, under the soft green grass, people lay. People like Madge and Mayor Undersee. There are traditions from all districts, and even the Capitol.

"This is amazing," I murmur, "thank you."

"You deserve to be happy," she smiles, "like I did with Finnick."

And like that, my guilt surfaces again and it's enough to push my stomach up my throat.

"Good luck," she squeezes my hand before slipping into one of the chairs.

We've dropped all marriage traditions, so Haymitch isn't walking me down the aisle, no flower girls and no bridesmaids or groomsmen. A person from District 12 volunteered to be the preacher, but he's really not saying much.

* * *

><p>Peeta's breath catches when he sees me. But it's not really me, it's some doll Annie and Effie and my whole prep team have created.<p>

When I stop at the altar, he whispers, "They destroyed your pretty face with the make-up."

I grin.

"But you really do look beautiful," he continues.

The preacher clears his throat, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, on this happy and joyous occasion, to join Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen for their marriage. We hope you can have a lovely life together and may the odds be ever in your favour."

This earns a laugh and a sound of claps from the attendees.

"I've been told to cut to the chase," the preacher continues, "so I'll do it like they used to. Speak now, or forever hold your peace."

No one makes a sound, thank god.

"Alright, let's move o-"

"Wait!" A man stands up.

Oh no.

"Yes?" the preacher asks.

_Please don't_, I look Gale in the eye and plead. He gives me an apologetic look.

No.

"She's having my child."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - DUN DUN DUN! THAT'S THE END OF MY STORY.**

**YES I'M NOT KIDDING.**

**IT'S THE END. AND I KNOW IT'S A CLIFFY. But I planned this ever since I first got the idea for this story. So bad news, there's not going to be another chapter in this story. But hey, good news, there's probably gonna be a sequel. Though it might take me a while to write it.  
>I'd like to thank all of you for staying with me for so long. This took over a year - way too long - and it's not even like super long and amazing. I don't know why you <em>have <em>actually stayed with my story when there are heaps of other ones that are so much better.**

**And I apologise for the crappiness of this whole story _chapter _because I'm really sick (I am, I missed netball training today and I'm skipping out on the game tomorrow and I never skip netball, so yah. And I'm using up like the whole tissue box.) and I can't think straight, but I really wanted to just get the final chapter up and I also promised my friend soo...yep, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review because they make my LIFE! (although I could be looking at getting some hate oops) (:**

**Have a fab day!**

**Best Wishes,  
>~KatnissxSwift<strong>

**P.S. - I think I _might_ be changing my pen name soon. So don't freak out if you see this unknown author ahahaha...bye.**


	20. Sequel!

Hey everyone!

If you haven't already, please check out the sequel to this story...Don't Forget Me!

I really hope you guys are excited for it. Please follow and favourite it and also review. Thanks for all your support, and I promise, this is one won't end on a cliffy. It will have a proper ending, quite possibly an open one though.

The link is here: s/9709426/1/Don-t-Forget-Me

The first proper chapter (or Chapter 2) should be up soon. I just need a bit of help from my friend!

Best Wishes,  
>~KatnissxSwift<p> 


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